Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old

Mondays are usually very hectic and, frankly, exhausting - but this was more so thanks to a mid-April ice storm. MID-APRIL. Anyhoo - I need a scotch.

The coldest distillery in Scotland, Dalwhinnie also claims to be the highest (though I think Braeval might be higher). It was founded in 1897, then purchased in 1905 by New York's Cook & Bernheimer, becoming the first US-owned Scottish distillery; since 1926 it's been part of DCL (now Diageo) and was one of the six Classic Malts in their range. Dalwhinnie is Gaelic for "meeting place" (Dail-coinneeamh) and still uses external wooden worm tubs.

The colour is a honeyed gold. Prickly malt on the nose with papaya, heather, milk chocolate and a hint of smoky peat. Lots of honey and vanilla. Citrusy with lemon curd and marmalade. Grassy. More peat and malt with water. Definitely "The Gentle Spirit" (as the label says) but also complex and lovely.

On the palate we have lighter honey, with vanilla bean, very light milk chocolate, a touch of peat and some white pepper. Thick, silky mouthfeel. A hint of caraway. Herbal with water. Sweet and dessert-y. A little punchier on the palate than on the nose, which brings me great pleasure.

The finish is long, wafting with sage, hot buttered toast and light caramel. Being one of those standard, ubiquitous Diageo malts, it's easy to forget how lovely this is. Very approachable and easy to drink, yet has the complexity to always keep you interested in what is going on in the glass. Definitely one of the best of the standard single malts out there, and a very nice finish to my soul-crushing Monday. Jim Murray scores this a whopping 95.

Now I love the fact that this 15yo scotch has got such an affordable price. And, although it is not as heavily flavored as some others, it still delivers big time on complexity and overall balance. A perfect malt to sip in summer, in my opinion, because of its lovely refreshing character.

NOSE: fresh white fruits covered in honey and cream. Kiwi fruit, lemon zest, a lot of freshly ground ginger and vanilla. With a drop of water it shows its slight floral aromas as well. The acidity of this nose along with a kiwi note reminds me of New Zealand white wines (Sauvignon Blanc in particular). Pears, green and red apples. Very much an Irish-ed nose with lots of fruits, floral notes and honey, but no peat or smoke whatsoever. Delicious. 23

TASTE: sour lemon arrival which quickly develops into spicy ginger vanilla cake notes. Effervescent dry champagne notes of fresh green apple. Aromatic honey, shortbread with whipped cream on top with fresh ripe fruits mixed in. 22/25

FINISH: long with vanilla cake, kiwi again and slightly oak dry. 23/25

BALANCE: Lovely transition of flavors through the entire whisky experience. Beautifully balanced. 24/25

92/100

Before I begin with this review I would like to explain my method of scoring to put the total score in perspective with my personal opinion. 0-50 = 'To my disliking' 50-65 = 'Partially enjoyable' 65-80 = 'Very satisfying' 80-100 = 'Must have reserves!'

On with the review. I must admit that I had high hopes for the Dalwhinnie 15 year old, being one of the six 'Classic Malts of Scotland' marketed by Diageo. Not to mention reviews being generally favorable.

Nose: Initially I was hit with ethanol carrying an obvious Sweet honey and parmesan cheese. Unfortunately I find parmesan cheese off-putting and sickly. Not out to a good start. Searching harder I find citrus notes of madarin orange and some almost hidden floral notes.

Palate: Medium bodied. There is plenty of heat and spice, with heather honey being the dominant flavour.

Finish: The finish moves into tangy citrus with bitterness balanced by sweet honey and pepper that hangs on for a good length of time.

Adding a drop of water quickly diluted the nose but did help bring out some depth including almond, possibly from the oak? I also found after time in the glass the off-putting aromas faded and made it easier to enjoy the honey notes. Overall this is perfectly drinkable, saved somewhat by a decent finish, but I wouldn't rush out to buy another bottle.

Let me know your thoughts and I hope my interpretation is helpful to someone thinking about picking up a bottle.

Dalwhinnie 15 YO was one of the first single malts I ever bought. Back then, my palate was limited to "This tastes like whisky" and "I like it". Now, some six years or so later, I got a bottle for Christmas and figured I should review it.

Nose: Different kinds of honey, notably heather, as well as a broader floral expression. Citrus, possibly orange zest, sea salt. The nose is quite sweet.

Taste: Again with the honey. Honey made from heather, but without being particularly sweet. Spices, association to rye and barley, a hint of sweetness. After a while, I found the whisky somewhat dry, bitter and with tea notes.

Finish: Long finish with spices and tea. Sweet and bitter.

Water did little except downplay the honey and citrus, in favour of a stronger barley taste. The finish became less bitter as well.

Aside from being a fun revisit, I enjoy Dalwhinnie 15 Years Old. Sure, there is nothing extreme about it, and perhaps it's best suited as an entry to single malt whiskies, but I think it has enough going for it none the less. At the same time, I fully understand why others find this too simple.

"The Gentle Spirit" as it calls itself on the bottle, polarises in these parts, partly because Jim Murray rated it at 95 pts, and no one else seems to understand why. I was amazed when I discovered that I had not yet reviewed Dalwhinnie 15. The reviewed bottle is 2/3rds full and has been open for 3 1/2 years

Nose: malty, with citrus fruit around the edges, a little grape, noticeable vanilla, and a little apple and pear. The balance is ok, skewing a little bit to the sour

Taste: translates the nose flavours pretty faithfully, which for some is not such a good thing. I've always found this bottle to be pleasant enough, mild, and enjoyable enough, but certainly one of the most understated malts in terms of intensity of flavour. That sour note has for several commentators seemed reminiscent of "baby puke". I know which flavour they are identifying in Dalwhinnie 15...but happily my gustatory and olfactory apparati do not deliver to me that same charming impression. If they did I would not ever drink Dalwhinnie 15

Finish: medium length, some initial sweetness, then moving more toward the sour and dry

Balance: mild flavours, vague flavours, potentially offensive flavours, what's not to dislike? Dalwhinnie 15 is pretty neutral and subtle to the point of being nothing-y, and what is there people often dislike

Well, all of that said, I've always liked Dalwhinnie 15 ok for what it is, mild fare, unadorned malty fare, and because I never noticed "baby puke" in it. That said, "The Gentle Spirit" has not moved me to drink more than 1/3 of this bottle over 3 1/2 years time

(No water for me for 43% abv whisky)

This is a whisky that I was very interested to try. Part of Diageo's Classic Malts range, it was rated 95 points in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible- and yet, almost unilaterally, people I know said it was pretty unexciting. Because of that, I was pretty hesitant to go buy a bottle- but, as luck would have it, I ended up being given one. And, having had the bottle open for about three months, I've got to say I probably weigh in with the 'unexciting' crowd. I have honestly no idea why this would be rated a 95 by Murray, although obviously taste is subjective and a great many of his reviews and ratings are exceedingly good.

Having said all that, Dalwhinnie 15 would be an absolutely stellar choice for an introductory malt for someone just getting into whiskey. It's very smooth, very mellow, not too high in ABV, and is full of generally enjoyable, approachable flavors.

Dalwhinnie 15 pours a fairly light gold color. The nose is pretty gentle and smooth with lots of light honey and soft vanilla overlaying less pronounced flavors of red apple, hay, and maybe a touch of floral.

The mouthfeel is a bit thinner than I'd like (but, at 43%, that's not exactly a shock), and the palate is very much a continuation of the nose, with lots of honey and vanilla mixed with malty cereal notes and a touch of nutmeg.

The finish is definitely the hero of this whisky- medium length and very smooth, it brings a delicate seam of smoke that mixes with flavors of vanilla, soft spice, and toffee apple.

There's nothing really WRONG with this whisky- it's smooth, very mellow, and tasty with a nice twist of smoke to the finish- but it's just too mild. There's not much complexity to be had- mostly just honey and vanilla laid over a few other flavors in the background- and in general it's just kind of uninteresting. I'm all for subtlety when it's done well, but this isn't that. It's the difference between a soft piano piece and someone taking a pop song and turning the volume down- subtlety needs complexity and depth to make it stand out. Instead, this seems to just be ordinary whiskey flavors but weaker.

Nose: Very fruity. Overwhelming orange zest, honey, plum.

Taste: Sweet, creamy, lots of citrus and honey, tea, grapefruit. Also a floral tone in there. Got some apricot as well after a few sips. The palate is very consistent with the nose. A pretty rounded taste, really mouth filling dram.

Finish: Quite long, spicy and smoky. Sweet with a touch of bitterness that gets more noticeable after a while.

Conclusion: A very rounded and pleasant whisky, with citrus and honey dominating. I think this is very accessible even for novices. Maybe it lacks a bit in complexity, but overall it feels like a quality dram and "easy" to go with. Also, for me the fact that it's a 15 year old shows that it has been given the time needed to reach a certain point of maturity where it 'works'.

Nose: Pleasant but leaves you searching for more. I found myself sniffing away trying to find something interesting to say. Nothing much came to mind. A delicate whiff of mixed fruits, apples, pears and currants? Followed by a distinct lack of peaty smoke.

Palate: Honey is instantly noticeable (or is it caramel) along with the same fruity touch as noticed in the nose. Warming for sure but lacking any real punch and the smoke that I believe is sorely needed.

Finish: A great end in my eyes, the sweet fruit is replaced by an increased touch of honey. Finally I get some smoke both on my tongue and in my nasal cavity, not harsh in any way but definitely appreciated. My favourite experience of this particular scotch.

I am not entirely convinced with this one. Its definitely enjoyable and would make for a great everyday dram. Though as I tend to save scotch for 'occasions' its not one for me. One to be shared with friends for sure and for the price it is definitely worth keeping a bottle in stock!

During my last visit to the local whisky bar, Helvetica, I was able to finally get my name on the email list in order to be contacted for tastings and events and such.

Now many of you will remember the odyssey, dare I say, epic odyssey, that was the event of finally going to Helvetica. An odyssey which involved poor people (being me and my wife), sickness, conflicting work schedules and an emergency appendix removal.

Thankfully this visit was much much easier.

So shortly after my last visit to Helvetica I receive an email stating that the bar will be doing a whisky tasting that pairs up different distilleries with chocolate. I'm not much of a chocolate fan, but this could be fun.

My wife and I are always watching the T.V reality shows about cooking and the contests. Now the reason I say this is because I always get it into my head that it would be awesome to do whisky & meal pairings. Something like you go to the distilleries in advance and you set up some sort of plan where you're able to pair a whisky with each dish you cook and the distillery gives you some sort of recognition.

I know it's crazy, but hey when I'm bored at work it's one of the many things I think about. So the idea of learning something about pairing whisky with any food sounded awesome.

So I promptly booked two spots in the tasting for my wife and myself.

Weeks drag by as we wait for the day of the whisky tastings to occur (busy busy week this week because a few days after this it's a series of Aussie whisky tastings!)

Finally the day arrives so my wife catches a ride to my job and waits until I'm off at which point we catch a ride from a taxi, with a very foul mouthed speed demon taxi driver, to the bar.

We arrive thirty minutes early and head upstairs to where the tasting is going to be, downstairs is packed. Upstairs is a very nice woman who will be running the whisky and chocolate tastings. She says that it'll be a little bit since we're early, but if we'd like to we can head downstairs and grab ourselves a drink then come on back up.

So we head down as I'm quite eager to try the George T. Stagg that I've heard so much about and purchase it. When I do the bartender lets me take a look at the bottle as we chat briefly about what an awesome whisky it is and that if I like it I should give the Sazerac Rye 25 yr old a try.

We head back upstairs to sit down and wait for the tasting to start, my wife and I chatting as we nose the Stagg. I plan on waiting until after the tasting before drinking it, but my wife makes the mistake of taking a sip at which point she gasps in awe.

"Holy Cow!"

I can't wait to taste the Stagg, but the tasting first!

Soon everyone has arrived and out comes the first taster!

Dalwhinnie 15 Yr old is the first whisky we're trying and it's being paired with honeycomb from the Margaret River Chocolate Factory.

My wife and I nose the whisky, which is served in a tulip shaped glass, and the first thing that hits our noses is sweetness.

It's the sweetness of honey and fruit. Hints of peaty smoke are in the background, but it never overpowers the fruit and honey. The fruit that stands out the most is pears, but it feels like there are a couple of other fruits in the background, but at this time I'm not able to pull them out.

We then take a sip. Now I've decided with all the pairings that I'm going to take a sip of the whisky normal, then try the whisky with the chocolate and see how they compare.

So my first sip of the whisky is nice, but it's not extremely complex. The honey stands out, as does the heather, the vanilla and pears. Now this might sound bad, but it works very well together and comes together for a long and lovely finish with hints of the peaty smoke and pears going all the way down.

Very yum!

But now to combine it with the honeycomb.

Here goes nothing, considering I don't care for honeycomb.

BAM!

It explodes in my mouth PERFECTLY!

The honeycomb brings out the pears, the vanilla and it all combines with the honeycomb's toffee like consistency beautifully.

This is such a good combination that my wife and I make a note of it so that we can surprise a friend who loves honeycomb, but is just getting into whisky.

The whisky on its own is good. But not great.

I already told you my feelings about honeycomb, and actually most chocolate, which I don't really care for.

But together it's a beautiful blend. Neither overpowers one another, but instead work in harmony.

The score for just the Dalwhinnie 15 yr old is post below, but the score for the pairing of the Dalwhinnie and honeycomb is a resounding 93 on sheer awesomeness!

The Dalwhinnie is reasonably priced at around $70 AUS, but can be difficult to find from most chain liquor stores over here.

Next up will be the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban paired with some lovely mint chocolate!

Very smooth & gentle whisky, without a doubt my favorite scotch. First impressions are a light vanilla and caramel duo, but followed by a light hint of citrus and peat. The finish is quite short with an increasing smokiness at the very end.

I personally prefer Dalwhinnie with ice as it increases the gentle character, which for me is what this whisky is all about.

I bought this whisky for the first time (and the last time) during summer 2010 and I was disappointed. It's just a very bland single malt, I kept waiting for a burst of flavour but it just never materialised. This whisky is very dry, even weak and I can't detect the sweetness that others describe. This one actually made me feel slightly ill and reminds me of when I first tasted blended scotch when I was about 12.

I'll start by saying I really love Highland and Speyside Malts. I think that Dalwhinnie 15 year should be the benchmark for judging other Highland malts. Not too much of anything. Elegant and understated, with no flavors being overwhelming, but working together to balance the pour.

Nose: Crisp, sweet, a little citrus and a touch of peat but very faint Taste: Silky entry followed by heather and rolling vanilla. I love the heather it Scotch. Finish: Slow to build, very warming, and just a touch of nice tingly oak

Highly recommended!

very pure as I've mentioned , smooth, i would say that is like a good wife after years of being married,reliable company,friend, no extravagance.

The nose is gentle, full of fruit, particularly pears and raisins, and gentle peat smoke, with a touch of honey. Really quite subtle, but worth pondering over for several sniffs.

The taste is light and spicy, followed by a spritely spirit burst that warms the mouth as the taste evolves, adding a honey sweetness and dried fruits.

The finish is surprisingly long and warm, full of honey and dried fruits, with a long drawn out, but gentle, peat smoke wisping through in the background. Unlike a lot of other malts though, after the finish ends (which take several minutes), my palate feels completely blank, even refreshed - like I could move on to any other malt.

I must admit to being a little surprised that this has been reviewed so negatively by a number of members. It's not in my top 10, but it is a genuinely refreshing and interesting malt.

Maybe I just got a good bottle...

The nose is somewhat acid-like and pretty salty. While it's body is light, though firm, the finish is rather long and smokey.

I didn't think this dram would be so powerful. It's not bad, but it's not extraordinary either.

A bit too salty for me.

Nose: light, malty (beer and cereal notes) and very honeyed. Slightly phenolic and peaty. Fruity (peach). Rather expressive, I must say. Mouth: quite malty and sweet. Oily. Some heather and vanilla. Citrus. Again more smoke than I expected. A few roasted and sugary notes. Slightly herbal and peaty towards the end. Finish: falls down a bit. Rather grassy.

A weathered old Scotsman once described this whisky to me as a "bit of a lady's drink". All I can say is its a smooth as you like!

Damn fine tipple for a lady's man.