The Dalmore x EIGHT: The Art of Cask Curation

Some nights are simply indelible; the stars align and somehow you find yourself with a seat at Canada’s most coveted table, with Scotland’s finest (and rarest) drams at your fingertips.

EIGHT and The Dalmore, it turns out, have rather a lot in common. Over the course of four very hedonistic hours, I would find out just how deeply their mutual threads of craftsmanship and artistry are intertwined.

The experience started with placing a call on an unassuming telephone in a hotel lobby in Calgary’s East Village, after which I was scooped up and led down a service-corridor-turned-epicurean-rabbit-hole into a secret bar, reminiscent of a 1930s New York Art Deco lounge. A vaulted, gilded ceiling and slickly polished cherrywood bar speak to the thoughtfulness of the design, somewhat akin to the striking intentionality behind The Dalmore’s distinct bottles.

Intrusive thoughts wrapped in blind panic threatened to disrupt the sumptuous first sips of my Maclean Manhattan (The Dalmore 18, Sakura Leaf, Cocchi di Torino, bitters). My eyes were darting back and forth between my cocktail and an array of hors d’oeuvres presented on a handcrafted driftwood plinth that just so happened to evoke The Dalmore’s emblematic stag. This is the kind of intoxicating synergy that begs to be captured but, for a restaurant so dedicated to plated perfection, EIGHT has a frustratingly strict “no photos” policy. To my shame, I have to admit that the permeating “camera eats first” culture has all but gobbled me whole. Defensible, I believe, through my protests that “it’s for work”, or “it’s so I don’t forget!” However, it turns out the sold-out EIGHT x The Dalmore Stampede Collection dinner was confidently unforgettable, that taste and scent are transient senses, and that true intimacy is, indeed, uninterrupted presence.

The bar serves as somewhat of an antechamber, building excitement and conversation ahead of a journey into the main dining space of EIGHT, recently voted #2 on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Two lines of four seats along a 90-degree Douglas fir table are positioned around the star of the show: the kitchen. Only, on this occasion, celebrated Calgary chef Darren MacLean was sharing the stage with nine expressions of The Dalmore. Together, they wove an immersive evening showcasing culinary and cask prowess.

Eight guests, eight courses, and a treasure trove of single malt; my goodness, ’twas a feast fit for Scotch royalty. Standout pairings included sablefish with kabayaki, buttered rice, strawberries and sansho pepper, sumptuously paired withThe Dalmore 12-Year-Old Sherry Cask Select, and truffle-topped mole tacos combined with The Dalmore Port Wood Reserve for a dazzling interplay of umami and subtle sweetness; and, of course, the absolute unabashed, dripping opulence of A5 Wagyu served alongside The Dalmore Constellation Collection, distilled in 1989 (pouring for roughly $3,000 per ounce!). Oh, and if you haven’t tried The Dalmore 2009 Vintage with lashings of foie gras dulce de leche poured over beignets and butterscotch ice cream, well, sorry to say, you probably have not lived.

The standout pour of the evening was The Dalmore’s 27-year-old iteration from the Cask Curation Series: Port Edition. Here, the whisky makers’ combined flair for cask finishing positively glimmers. And let’s be clear: this is liquid luxury. An aged single malt finished in a 1997 vintage, single-harvest Graham’s tawny port cask from Portugal’s sought-after Douro Valley presents notes of raw cacao, honey-dipped figs and marzipan, with the spirit and wood working in concert, much like MacLean’s carefully selected ingredients, to sing a song of finery. The bottle is one of three in the series, its older sisters presenting 30- and 43-year-old age statements. The set, one of 150 released in October 2024, retails at around $60,000.

The night ended with sips of Graham’s 20, coos of contentment, discussions of interconnection, and, of course, the all-important question: what’s next for The Dalmore’s Cask Curation Series?

It turns out that the answer is The Madeira Wine Cask Edition, the fourth and final release and the ultimate culmination of the Cask Curation Series. What better way to present a final act than with a light, bright and zesty finish? Collaborating with esteemed cask partner Blandy’s Wine Lodge, a trio of 30, 34 and 45-year-old single malts are finished in three exceptionally rare Madeira pipes: Terrantez, Bual and Malvasia. The Dalmore’s heritage of whisky-making artistry meets Blandy’s historic Madeira legacy to weave an intricate story of depth and character.

So what can we expect? Master Blender Dr. McCallum promises aromatic and complex whiskies, with the 30-year-old bringing sweet citrus and nutty notes, the 34-year-old providing “seductive and enticing layers of dried fruit, honey, exotic wood and spices”, and the 45-year-old presenting a classic expression of The Dalmore with dark chocolate, spiced orange, bold dried fruit and walnut. Dr. McCallum assures us the release will be “a true expression of whisky making artistry.”

While the second The Dalmore x EIGHT: The Art of Cask Curation Dining Series is, unsurprisingly, sold out, you can attempt to get your hands on one of the 150 releases of The Dalmore Cask Curation Series: Madeira Wine Cask Edition. If you happen to have a spare $60,000, perhaps grab me one too.

The fourth and final release of the Cask Curation Series – The Madeira Edition will be available on November 21st, 2026. If you are interested, please reach out to National Brand Specialist for The Dalmore, Emma Coady at emma.coady@whyteandmackay.com.

All images courtesy of Tenzo Creative.