Dalwhinnie is a Scotch I first had in a bar in D.C. and liked it enough to buy a bottle when it came on sale. When I opened the bottle and started draining drams from it, I found myself surprisingly wishing for something more. It's like seeing an author read a blurb from what seems to be a great book ... but when you read your fresh new copy at home, the rest of the book doesn't hold up. It has one or two great chapters and that's it.
Scotches aged 15 years and older tend to be very smooth and almost understated - the flavors have mellowed quite a bit after so many years in the cask. Additionally, Dalwhinnie is the highest altitude distillery in Scotland, which theoretically makes for a purer, smoother malt. Their own website calls the flavor profile "accessible" which tends to be synonymous with "bland." Don your drinking cap, my detecting drinkers, we're finding out.
Nose: Gentle. Not much alcohol in the nose. Honey rolls over the top, softly, carrying golden raisins in with it. Fleshy apples seem firmly present in the core of the scent. The honey morphs into vanilla and back again like a '90s music video. Very sweet. The vanilla notes might almost be flan in their richness. Quite a nice nose.
Mouthfeel: Medium and smooth.
Palate: Giant malty cereal grains. Chewy! Sticks in the teeth. Honey and vanilla return hand in hand, subtle to the point of being muted or gagged. A hint of chocolate. A hint of fruit of some kind, but not apples. It's pleasant but not complex.
Finish: Dry, as wood comes through (and maybe leather) and the sweetness is swept away. The wood gets a bit ashy as it lingers.
Verdict: I mean... this is a solid Speyside whisky, and I like it. But it's not world-shaking, and honestly I think it's too expensive at $50 near me. I understand it takes effort and investment to age a whisky 15 years, but the result here is only whelming. Not over, not under, just whelming. Whelming.
I read elsewhere on the web, and sadly can't remember where (or find it via Google), that this is the whisky you should bring as a present to a dinner party. That is just about right. It will offend no one and please many who are scared of the fearsome reputation Scotch has.
Link to the Dalwhinnie website for the 15 Year: http://www.malts.com/index.php/en_us/Our-Whiskies/Dalwhinnie
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