Scotland, Central Highlands: Single malt whisky through the producing distilleries: history, making, production and tasting notes

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Dalwhinnie

Distillery description Tasting notes

The distillery

For information about the distillery, please click on the photo.

The whisky

A propos des notes de dégustation Your own tasting notes

List of the bottles

Dalwhinnie
O.B. 15 years 16 1/4
Distillers edition 1985 16 3/4
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Dalwhinnie: official bottlings
 

Dalwhinnie 15 years
Age
 15 years
Alcohol percentage
 43%
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros< 25 euros
 
 
The colour is yellow gold. The nose, spicy, "grassy" and slightly smoked evokes the wax and honey but remains close to barley.
The sweet palate confirms the nose.
The milky finish is a bit bitter, and has some liquorice, smoked barley, lemon grass and anise hints,.

(la Maison du Whisky)

 A good whisky from the Classic Malts series. But it did not leave me an imperishable memory. It is on its place in each whisky collection, but is not really exceptional.
16/20
The spicy but rather vague nose evokes the barley with some difficult to define hints, probably some rather acid honey (?). The same feeling is present in the palate. The finish is relatively short, and here again, the barley with some more acid touches is present.
16/20
Spices on a cereal background, that what the nose detects. In the palate, a rather flat taste consisting of barley enhanced by some slightly acid hints. The finish is rather short, but quite interesting because some new flavors appear, like nice liquorice hints on a slightly woody background.
16/20
Nice fruity nose with pleasant pear notes, some fresh citrus fruit hints (tangerine?) letting some malty notes appear on the background.
The mouth confirms the smoothness announced by the nose. Pleasant fruity impression.
The finish prolongs perfectly the mouth. Smooth and fruity. Long and fresh.
17/20

 Comment by Henrik Johansson

Date of tasting: 8/12 2007
Appearance: Pale gold, surprisingly light and clear
Nose: Very clean and fresh, simple and pleasant nose with fruity, solvent hints like pear drops, lemon and some acetone. There's a very lightly sherried hint reminiscent of chardonnay, some hay-like or green-house scents and mossy water. It's all very delicate, and doesn't really need diluting.
Body: On the lighter side, but firm
Palate: Sweet, fresh, simple and pleasant just like the nose. The dominant flavours are sweetish and slightly acidic fruits and malt. Medium finish. Quite well balanced, but sort of unsatisfying and just a tad bland. Works very well when one's in the mood for something like this.
82/100

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Dalwhinnie
1985
Distillers edition
Age
15 years
Alcohol percentage
 43%
Particularity
 double maturation
Cask
 Sherry Oloroso
Bottler
 Official
=25 euros=25 euros
 
The colour is amber, the nose wavering between sweetness and dryness reveals nut hints and a touch of smoke.
The palate, more woody and slightly peaty is smooth with sweet sherry hints.
The finish is long and vegetable.

(la Maison du Whisky)

Dalwhinnie is part of the "Classic Malts" collection of United Distillers. This special "Distillers edition" was matured in sherry Aloroso casks, and the final result is very good, that's all as far as I am concerned.
16/20
At the second tasting, I had a long hesitation before I could rate this whisky. Something difficult to define, a nice smell, but without anything special, a nice nice taste, and that's it, without the fragrances explosions which are so characteristic of great whiskies. A nice finish, but not really special. The first impression is confirmed.
16/20
The third tasting took place several month later, and its conclusions were very different of the first ones. Own taste evolution? Chemical reaction with the air? The nose is rather clean, revealing malt notes, with smoke and dry fruit hints. The taste in the palate is rather bitter (wood, walnuts) on a background of malt. Sherry is detected as well. A nice finish, with some rather pleasant bitter hints.
18/20
The first nose is rather discrete but after a while spices, dried fruits ans other malty smells appear, together with some smoke on the background. In the palate this whisky is very smooth with however a kind of bitterness. Between banana and walnut. A rather long finish swinging between malty sweetness and woody bitterness with even a touch of citrus acidity, quickly dominated by the hints of ripe fruits.
17/20
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