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Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old bottled 1980s

Boring highlander

0 470

LReview by @LarsA

9th Jul 2014

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  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Balance
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  • Overall
    70

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Colour: Light gold. Nose: Burning alcohol, flowers, citrus, grass, bubblegum Palate: Pretty much what I would expect from an entry level Speysider, a little fruit, citrus,caramel, slightly aggresive alcohol, had I tasted this blind I would have expected it to be more than 50% abv, bubblegum. Very faint smoke. Fairly thin mouthfeel. Finish: Furtunately quite short, along the lines of the above mentioned. Based on the rewievs I´d read about this, I wxpected this to be a fairly anonymus entry level single malt, that would be a cheap but not very interesting daily dram. This proved to be basically ehat I got, but the alcohol seemed quite agressive. Also the bubblegum was much more prominent that I would like it to be. It should be noted that this IS in fact fairly inexpensive, but I can still find several other whiskies in the same pricerange and style, that I would rather have, good examples would be Cragganmore 12 and Cardhu 12. I would however rather spend a Little more, and get something that I actually enjoy. Next time I shop for a daily dram in this style, I will certainly spend the Little extra some of Balvenies entry level versions cost.

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4 comments

@cherylnifer
cherylnifer commented

The past few years batches are not like they use to be. All annual issues of Jim Murray's Whisky Bible still contain the same narrative as his initial whisky bible in 2004 (?). Only the numeric score changes +/- 1 per issue. The past few years of Dalwhinnie 15 are no where as enjoyable as the 2003/2004 batches IMHO.

9 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@cherylnifer, thanks much for your take on Dalwhinnie 15. It is hard around here to find people who can give perspective from 10 years ago.

I love that Jim Murray reassesses whiskies which he has previously evaluated, but it appears that the task has grown too large for one man. Really, all whiskies should be re-evaluated each and every year to keep track of the current batches coming onto the market. And whiskies with high idiocentricity and variability like Ardbeg Uigeadail, Ardbeg 10, or Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength, really do justify individual reviews of each and every batch.

9 years ago 0

LarsA commented

Well I´m certainly not the right one to ask about the development of any whisky. Three years ago, I would have said that whisky was best enjoyed in a tumbler, with lots of ice. But seeing what others say about the Dalwhinnie 15, and how they rate it, I must admit that I found it rather disappointing. Right now I´m trying to finish off a Macallan select oak, which I´m not very impressed with, and which Serge of whiskyfun (Who I usually have great faith in) gave only 78 points, vs 82 to the Dalwhinnie, and I must say that although I don´t particulary like the Macallan, I find it much more enjoyable than the Dalwhinnie. I absolutely agree with Victor that in an ideal world it would be good, if somebody we trust would review each and every batch of anything. Obviously something like the a´bundath which is known for variability should be assesed for every batch, but more ordinary offerings such as the Dalwhinnie I think it would be wise just to check with regularly. Or in my case, I will just conclude that the Dalwhinnie is not particulary to my taste, and I will stay away from in the future, so I can drink something I enjoy more instead. But I must say that I found the Dalwhinnie disappointing, considering how others describe and rate it. Right now I´m trying to finish off a Macallan select oak, which is often rated lower that the Dalwhinnie, and although I´m not impressed whit hte Mac (Hence trying to finish it off), I much prefer it to the Dalwhinnie.

9 years ago 0

LarsA commented

wtf!!!. I just tried to check mail while replying, and my original reply had gone, so I rewrote it, just to see that it came back when I posted my comment!. If my comment above should make any sense, then please disregard half of it (You can choose either to ignore the first or last half at will).

9 years ago 0

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