Whiskeytemple_Vladimir 
Оценка: 85/100 . Цена: между 50 и 60 лв.
Dalwhinnie 15 y.o. single malt whisky
Dalwhinnie is the highest-altitude distillery in Scotland /if it comes to the functioning ones/, or at least it`s said so by the marketeers. Someone would add that from high falls most easily, but if we disregard ours „optimism“, I would say that the distillery is situated at the perfect place for production of high-mountain malt. Surrounded by the Grampian and Monadhliath mountains, lies nestled the ‘body’ of Dalwhinnie.
Besides the height at which is located, the distillery is known also for its constantly cold weather, having an average temperature of about 6 °C. After a brief introduction of its geography and climate characteristics, I think it’s time to talk about whisky. Before that – a pinch of facts. It is founded at the late 19th century by John Grant, Alexander Mackenzie and George Stellar, and was named Strathspey. The production started, but a year later the three gentlemen encountered financial problems. So they sold it. The new owners changed the name to Dalwhinnie. The following decades were quite unstable. The new owners were changing like the rulers of Bulgarian Khanate from the 8th century, i.e. often. Instead of khans from different generations, Dalwhinnie was ruled by Scots, replaced by Americans /in 1905 Cook & Bernheimer from New York bought it for around £1300/, which in the 20’s were replaced by Scots again. And just at the end of the 30’s the situation was about to stabilize and appeared a crazy Austrian, named Hitler, who lit the spark of World War II, which understandably affected the activities of Dalwhinnie, because of restrictions in the supply of barley. After the war, the situation got back to normal. The ownership changed again and fell into the hands of predecessors of Diageo, which announced Dalwhinnie as a part of Diageo’s ‘Classic Malts’ series. Strange, since of about 1.3 million litres of pure alcohol a year, only about 10% is allocated for malt, and the rest is used for Diageo’s blended whiskies, mainly for Black & White blended whisky. I think you’ll be extremely bored after a few more sentences, so I will now introduce you to my thoughts on the topic.
Aroma – perfume, strong honey aromas, fruit liqueur, herbal tea, sweetness, dried fruits, vanilla, slight woodiness, wax, grassy notes, apples /yellow/. I added some water. It unlocks caramel, more fruits and a negligible amount of peat. Taste – sweet, presence of weak spiciness, dried fruits, honey, light bitterness and oiliness, as the swirling of the liquid in the mouth stimulates salivation. With water – more sweetness, but with a hint of bitterness. Finish – short to medium, sweetness, fruity, nuts, pepperness. With water – more of the above mentioned, as is perceived and slight bitterness.
Assessment: 85/100
In summary: a nice malt, which for the admirers of highly expressive whiskies might seem somewhat nondurable and boring. For the price of around 60 lv., I think we get an interesting whisky.
