The Making of a Masterpiece

Founded in 1839 on the shores of the Cromarty Firth in the Scottish Highlands, The Dalmore has been making masterpieces of Single Malt Scotch whisky for over 180 years.

The Dalmore is famous amongst whisky fans for its distinctive house style – a taste rich with notes of chocolate, orange, and soft spice – and amongst collectors and enthusiasts for its rare and exclusive releases which regularly set record prices at auction.

Sir Alexander Matheson, the distillery’s founder, was an entrepreneur who made his fortune in trade. He set out to create a whisky for individuals who appreciate the finer things in life, and today, The Dalmore is one of the most admired Single Malt whiskies in the world.

The iconic silver stag proudly adorns each bottle, an emblem gifted by King Alexander III of Scotland in 1263. Colin of Kintail, Chief of the Clan Mackenzie, saved the King from the fury of a charging stag. In recognition of his brave and noble act, Alexander granted the Mackenzie Clan the use of the royal stag as their family crest.

Twenty-eight years after the distillery’s founding, two brothers, Andrew and Charles Mackenzie, took control of The Dalmore. Descendants of Clan Mackenzie, one of their first changes was to place the stag on every bottle – a guarantee of peerless quality.

From Matheson and the Mackenzie brothers, The Dalmore has seen an unbroken chain of visionary whisky makers, celebrated globally for their relentless quest for excellence.

Generations of the Mackenzie family ran the distillery for over a hundred years, eventually succeeded by Richard Paterson. With a sense of smell insured for millions, Paterson is a veritable rock star in the world of whisky. He went on to steer The Dalmore’s course for over 50 years – responsible for each cask laid down, his vision behind every expression released. Once asked what he considered the best whisky he had made, Paterson was quick to reply; “We haven’t made it yet”.

Paterson’s restless passion and creative flair are legendary and come to life in some of the greatest Scotch whiskies ever created.

Now enjoying a well-earned retirement, Paterson continues to oversee the whisky he helped create during his career and shares his expertise as a mentor to Gregg Glass, The Dalmore’s latest Master Whisky Maker.

Renowned for combining tradition with intriguing new ideas, Glass—one of whisky’s true innovators—is spearheading the revival of Scottish Oak in whisky maturation and is a vocal champion for reforesting projects.

The commitment of these generations of whisky makers to quality and the curation of exquisite casks has stood for nearly two centuries, ensuring The Dalmore is an exceptional Single Malt.

Many factors contribute to the whisky’s quality, from the purity of the water drawn from Loch Morie in the hills overlooking the Firth, to the careful curation of ingredients. However, it is the idiosyncratic collection of stills at the distillery, with parts dating back to 1874, that offers the whisky makers the foundation upon which they work the magic of cask curation and complex maturation.

The unique character of this whisky enables the makers to fully showcase their creativity and artistry by maturing the spirit in exceptional casks sourced from wineries around the world. The Dalmore has established long-standing relationships with these winemakers over generations, granting them exclusive access to some of the rarest casks— vessels that have previously held some of the world’s greatest wines.

The Dalmore’s whisky has a robust character, allowing Glass and his team of whisky makers to mature casks for extended periods. This ensures each cask develops to its full potential. When a particular cask is identified as having a unique character, the spirit can be transferred to a different type of cask to enhance or complement its developed flavour notes. This intricate creative process can take years, gradually adding layers of flavour and aroma. The result is whisky releases that offer a multi-sensory experience as much as they provide a drink.

As Glass describes it; “You can see flavour like a triangle, with top notes, core notes, and then base notes – as a perfumier thinks about perfume or cologne. But we take that triangle and twist it into a 3-dimensional shape. We’re looking beyond taste alone. There’s obviously aroma, but there’s also mouth-feel, and then beyond into the emotional response a whisky can create. All of these things can be influenced through cask enhancement.”

Complex multi-cask maturation was a philosophy pioneered by the Mackenzies over 150 years ago and is a tradition The Dalmore maintains today, their whisky makers carefully transferring precious spirit from cask to cask, building layers of flavour to complement that distinctive house style of chocolate, orange, and soft spice.

Time and patience are key to this creative process, and taking time over the whisky itself offers obvious rewards. As Glass puts it; “It’s not just about the time taken in the whisky making – it’s about the time taken for enjoyment – time with your family, or enjoying a drink with friends. We’ve had the luxury over the decades at The Dalmore to build up these wonderful aged stocks of whisky, creating unique flavours worth taking time over.”