Dalwhinnie Winter's Frost (Game of Thrones-House Stark)

Picked this up for a steal from a closing store and I’ve been savoring every last drop. This is Dalwhinnie through and through — a winter warmer — and yet its character is tannic, tart, and tropical. I get the anticipated notes on the nose: dried heather, lemon peel, and a beeswax candle that’s just been snuffed out. But I also smell dried mango and big notes of tamarind, which is so unexpected and special. On the palate, the body is carried by notes of black tea and summer harvest honey. The top notes add more tropical flavors, like banana tarte tatin and dried coconut. I also get a medicinal tulsi note, which bespeaks the bourbon influence. The mouthfeel is tannic, expansive, and somewhat bitter, tinged with the brightness of the fruity notes. The finish is a flare of salted mango and dark honey, with a deep and sweet barley note. It’s warming, mouthwatering, and piquant all at once. This single malt manages to be in two places at once, one foot in a daring dream and one foot in the waking world, and it manages it so well I can’t be sure which is which.

Apple juice, light on the palate, lemon pith, salt water taffy, salty

It’s been at least 5, maybe even 6 years since I reviewed the Lagavulin 9, which I believe was the Lannister bottle. That was solid, but I had a fair comparison with the mainstay Lagavulin 8. I hadn’t seen the show then, but I watched the whole thing a year ago. This is just an NAS Dalwhinnie, so I’m not expecting much here. Choosing a Highland malt is a fair choice to represent the Starks, though. Nose: Floral notes, with some orchard fruit. Granny Smith apple, pear, and apricot. Toffee, vanilla, malt. Caramel. Unripe banana. Graham cracker. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Palate: Vanilla, honey, caramel, and toffee. Milk chocolate. Sugar cookie. Apple, pear, apricot, and golden raisin. Plum. Custard. Clove, numteg, cinnamon, and oak. Finish:Vanilla, honey, caramel, and toffee. Apple, pear, apricot, and golden raisin. Clove, nutmeg, white pepper, and oak. Moderate length. Pleasant enough whisky. Definitely could’ve used more time in the barrel, but it’s fine for what it is. $60 is too much even considering the gimmick, so I docked a quarter star for VFM. 3/5 even. This may not have done the Starks justice, but drinking it was certainly a better experience than watching the show beyond the at which the writer’s ran out of George’s source material.