Dalwhinnie 15 year old Whisky

Today something from the Scottish Highlands, the Dalwhinnie 15 year old single malt Scotch whisky. The village of Dalwhinnie in Scotland is situated in the Cairngorm National Park. The builders chose the site for this Highland distillery for its access to water from the Lochan-Doire-Uaine spring.

There is ample peat from the surrounding bogs. It was close to the geographic centre of the Highlands and enjoy easy access to the Highland Railway. Set in impressive mountain scenery, Dalwhinnie is one of the highest distilleries in Scotland. In 1897, J Grant, G Sellar and A Mackenzie established the Strathspey distillery.

Production started in 1898, but the partnership went bankrupt. The distillery was sold to AP Blyth in 1898, who renamed it Dalwhinnie. Currently, United Distillers, a Diageo unit, owns the distillery. Whisky from this distillery is marketed under the Diageo Classic Malts brand.

Other distilleries that fall under the Classic Malts brand include Lagavulin, Oban and Glenkinchie. Only 10% of the Dalwhinnie production is released as a single malt. The remaining whisky is used in various of the Diageo blends. The distillery only releases a Dalwhinnie 15 year old single malt whisky and a Distillers Edition.

Dalwhinnie also has the distinction of being an official weather station, with one of the lowest recorded average temperatures in Great Britain. Jim Murray awarded the Dalwhinnie 15 year old, 95 points in his Whisky Bible, so I expected an exceptional dram.

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Dalwhinnie 15 year old Whisky Review

I have a 200 ml bottle which was part of a Diageo Classic Malt whisky set.

REGION: Highland

ABV: 43%.

COLOUR: A light gold with medium length lingers in the glass.

NOSE: Rich and layered. It promises all kinds of wonderful experiences. There are notes of  vanilla, oak and mint. Hints of aniseed and liquorice float about in between the toffee and fruit. The nose is gentle and inviting.

PALATE: Without water, the palate of the Dalwhinnie is spicier than the nose suggests. There are notes of malt, butterscotch, vanilla and fruit. Adding water changes the whole palate. The sweetness disappears, and the oak and citrus come through with a bang. Unfortunately,  it overwhelms everything else.

FINISH: Without water, the finish is medium length, complex and smooth with notes of honey and nuts.  When you add water, the finish lengthens, but it changes to bitter citrus and oak.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The Dalwhinnie 15 year old is a dram you should enjoy neat. In my opinion, a few drops of water enhances most whiskies. The water released more of the flavour notes and smoothed it out. This Dalwhinnie 15 yo whisky was an exception.  Without the water, this dram was excellent. Water toned down the delicate notes and washed it out. Instead, drink this dram neat.

I tried the Dalwhinnie 1990 Distillers Edition and some Lindt hand-made dark chocolate for one of my whisky chocolate tastings. It made for a superb whisky chocolate pairing combination.

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