Is The Dalmore Cask Curation Series Worth $44,450?

The Dalmore Cask Curation Series Red Wine Edition

We’ve been hearing a lot for a couple of years now about the decline in whisky sales in general and Scotch whisky sales in particular; about tariffs making it tougher to import spirits into the U.S. from, say, Scotland; about general economic anxiety rippling through the populace at large. And it’s all true. But it’s also true that, at any point in the 500-plus year history of whisky — uisge beatha, as it was known in its infancy — there has always been a high likelihood that 150 people on the planet would plunk down considerable amounts of money for three bottles of Scotch single malt in a hatbox.

OK, not just any Scotch single malt, and it’s not really a hatbox, though it certainly looks like one. The bottles in question are some of the rarest holdings of The Dalmore, the luxury whisky distillery in the Scottish Highlands; and they’ve been packaged together as part of the third edition of the Cask Curation Series. The hatbox is actually a swanky bespoke leather travel case (more on that later). Because apparently people who can plunk down $44,450 for this package enjoy carrying it around — to picnics, to their friends’ mansions, to the yacht, what have you.

What's in The Cask Curation Series Red Wine Cask Edition?

• 24 Year Old Whiskey

• 34 Year Old Whiskey

• 43 Year Old Whiskey

The Dalmore Cask Curation Series Red Wine Edition bottles

Each of the Cask Curation Series focuses on a different cask in which the whisky is given a second maturation. The first in the series was a trio of sherry cask-finished malts; last year’s edition was port cask-finished. For the third go-round, they took a less predictable path, using red wine casks — specifically those of Château Mont-Redon from Châteauneuf-du-Pape — to do the deed. All three expressions, after primary aging in both bourbon and Matusalem sherry casks, are finished for 18 months in the same 2023 Mont-Redon casks, both to maximize the big fruit notes and to show how the casks influence whiskies of three different ages.

Wine casks have historically been used less frequently to age whisky than fortified wine casks (e.g. sherry and port), but in recent years we’ve started seeing more of it. “We love the plummy, jammy Châteauneuf-du-Pape casks and the way they influence our whiskies,” says Craig Bridger, Head of Advocacy at the Dalmore’s parent company, Whyte & Mackay. “It's interesting with the Dalmore historically, when we do use red wine, it’s typically seen as a as a component piece, rather than putting it directly in the spotlight, like we've done here.” Craig’s job, in this case at least, is to set up camp in a fancy New York hotel with a Cask Curation Series Red Wine Cask Edition set and talk folks like me through the story of each bottle while we sip them — he gets to enjoy a nip or two as well, of course.

Tasting The 24 Year Old Whisky

“Let me get on my auction quality gloves here,” Bridger says, because the Curated Cask Series is so fancy that one should not touch it with something as vulgar and common as, you know, hands. Fortunately, he manages to pull it off without giving off too much of a butler vibe.

First up is the youngest of the trio, a 24-year-old bottled at a gentle, barely legal 40.7% ABV. Why so low? Bridger explains: “When we were experimenting with these bottlings at a higher ABV, we lost some of the delicate floral notes, some of the soft spice, and some of the vegetal notes that are perceptible here. So this is where we landed.” Fair enough. And it is indeed quite floral and vegetal — I pick up distinct beet and mushroom notes (I know, I know, mushroom is a fungus, not a vegetable), along with a very subtle spicy kick on the finish. Add a drop of water and hazelnut, cocoa and fig come out to play. It’s recognizably Dalmore, with a few extra layers to it. Pretty impressive.

Tasting The 34 Year Old

We follow it up with a 34-year-old — same casks, almost the same ABV (40.5%), but aged for an extra decade. And those 10 years have imparted a citrus, floral nose that I could have almost mistaken for a Riesling, were I wearing a blindfold. But on the palate, it’s fruity and jammy, with big fudge and walnut flavors and just a hint of spice on the finish. A couple of drops of water brought out the tannins and — once Craig suggested it — hints of strawberry gelato. The power of suggestion? You tell me. I’m typically wary of wine cask finishes because I’ve tasted some not-great ones over the years, but these two whiskies could change my mind.

Tasting The Big Kahuna: 43 Years Old

The Dalmore 43 year old whiskey

Ah, but there’s still a third dram to come! This one’s been aged for a whopping 43 years — that means it was laid down in the heyday of Adam Ant, voodoo economics, and the Falklands war — and bottled at an oh-so-gentle 40.3% ABV. Coincidentally or not, the other two Cask Curation Collections have also featured 43 year olds as their elder statesman. There’s something about a prime number… 43 is a prime number, isn't it?

Of the three whiskies, this one takes the most time evolving on the palate. Much drier than the other two, with a more pronounced oaky spice; cacao-forward chocolate; earthy, almost savory honey; and anise/black licorice all slowly making their presence felt. One of the most complex wine cask-finished whiskies I’ve ever tasted, and one of the best, too.

About That Hatbox…

Craig Bridger, Head of Advocacy at the Dalmore’s parent company, Whyte & Mackay opening the hat box

As mentioned, these three bottles come packaged in a bespoke travel-case-that-looks-like-a-hatbox, designed by AB Florence, makers of fancy Italian luggage. Each year’s collection sports a different colored hatbox — er, travel case. Year 1 was red; Year 2 was a not-quite-forest green. This year’s is a lapis blue, which it’s said evoked the color of the wine grapes on the vine. Craig says it’s his favorite of the three. Me, I kind of lean towards the green.

But is it Worth almost $45,000?

This is the unknowable question, because not only will I never have $44,450 to spend on three bottles of whisky and a hatbox, but even if I did, the 26 sets available in the U.S. (out of the 150 available worldwide) would likely have sold pretty quickly. “You know,” Craig says, “whether it's high-end whiskeys or other luxury goods, it’s uncertain times right now around the world, in almost every way you can consider. But the people who have the expendable income to collect these beautiful things, who have a passion for super cars, or one of a kind horology on their wrists, or things like this, they're doing fine.”

And hey, if I’m going to fantasize… well, I still don’t know if I would shell out that much loot even in my dreams. Receiving it as a gift, on the other hand, would be wonderful. If you’d like to purchase it for me, reach out to the editors for further instructions.