islay_emissary
Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
November 24, 2017 (edited October 21, 2024)
I’m going against the grain on this one. For years, Dalwhinnie was my favorite whisky. So smooth and satisfying it could easily be chugged neat. I guess the same could also be said of the distillers edition as it delivers in very pleasant fashion. In addition, 16 years of double maturation is both honorable and commendable in today’s market. Unfortunately, though, I rate this a slight downgrade to the core expression, which I see as the perfect mix of honeyed vanilla and toasted almonds. The Oloroso finish does add a modicum of complexity to the palate; however, the disruption comes mainly in the nose. Somewhere, in the 2nd part of the process, a touch of something (sulfur?) is introduced adding a tiny wilt to an otherwise vibrant bouquet. This coupled with an increase in cost has this spirit falling a tad out of 4-star territory.
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@Outcast - Their website describes the finish on their core 15yo expression as follows: “Long, lingering, surprisingly intense finish that starts sweetly, then gives way to smoke, peat and malt.” I doubt most here would agree with assessment, but I found this to be slightly true on very rare occasion. The DE probably steps on the peat even more so.
Many thanks, I enjoy the smoke/peat and have some bottles of laphroaig in my arsenal so I was hoping this was more speyside but wondered when I saw the "peated". Again many thanks
@Outcast I've never thought of this as a smoky profile. As far as I know Dalwhinnie use malt from the Roseisle maltings at <5ppm for everything. If you want smoky, this isn't the droid you're looking for.
The smoke/peat in Dalwhinnie is almost nonexistent. I’ve only been able to notice it a couple of times in a restaurant environment where smokiness is sometimes enhanced for reasons unknown to me. It’s a great whisky but not in the same league as an Islay if you like smokiness.
Quick question being fairly new to the higher end scotch game, when I think "peated" I go to like laphroaig, is this one as strong as that or is it more subtle?
Money, money, money is the name of the game............ and it's working. :)
Agreed. Diagio forced the Distiller's Edition expressions on their Classic Malts distilleries, and in somes cases (such as this) it sits really uncomfortably.