Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old bottled 1980s

My first whisky review. I feel giddy. Like a young child on Christmas Eve. Or a father on Christmas Eve in the knowledge the child has left Santa a dram...

By way of background, I've been a whisky drinker for about 10 years but a whisky lover for only a couple. It was always there at University at the end of a night, at a wedding for a toast or in my cupboard as a gift. But recently I've got serious. I've committed.

My first review, however, is a bottle that has been in my collection for a long while and only fumes remain, hence my desire to commit the experience to narrative before it’s too late.

Well then. On the nose it’s fresh. I get citrus, honey and overly ripe banana (potentially as this is an overly ripe whisky having bided its time in my cupboard for so long).

It’s light in the mouth. Very smooth, easy going. Brown sugar and vanilla cosy up. There's a simplicity to this which makes it so easy to drink.

The finish again is almost silky and to a lesser extent, sexy. And then those browning bananas come back to say "hi", just as the dram says "bye".

A great introduction to the world of whisky and, to a lesser extent, the world of whisky reviewing!

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