Before I opened this bottle a couple months ago, more than a decade had passed since I'd last tasted the 15. The first thing I noticed was how easily the Dalwhinnie from my new bottle drank. Yes, the whisky had been chillfiltered and diluted down to 43%abv, but its style also matched the malt's advertised slogan, "The Gentle Spirit". Two years prior, I'd also taken part in a bottle split of the original 15yo bottling from the 1980s. It is now time to match them up.
A quick note before the Taste Off commences: These two Dalwhinnie 15s are not the same spirit. The distillery's worm tub and condensers were replaced in 1986, then the distillery went through further updates six years later. On-site maltings were shut down in 1968, so the '80s version may include some of that previous era's spirit as well.
A Dalwhinnie Duo
| Dalwhinnie 15 year old bottled in the 1980s 40%abv |
Dalwhinnie 15 year old bottled in 2024 43%abv |
|---|---|
| The nose begins with wet old oak and wet roots. Maybe a funky dunnage hint too. Pencil shavings, limes, and mint leaf emerge after about a half hour. | The nose starts off very doughy with soft notes of saline, anise, and orange peel, adding Midori liqueur, roses, dandelions, and lemon candy after some time in the glass. |
| A odd mix of bitter wet cardboard and stout arrives first in the palate, followed by vanilla, brown sugar, sawdust, dusty smoke, and a hint of lemon. | First up in the palate: roasted barley, roasted coffee beans, and semi-sweet chocolate. A bold sweet orange note slowly morphs into bitter peels after a while. |
| It finishes briefly with iron, sawdust, and brown sugar. | A cooling sensation spreads across one's tongue in the finish, bringing with it sweet and tart oranges and a touch of mocha. |
| Comments: This may have had some Old Bottle action affecting it. Or United Distillers had a whole bunch of funky musty casks in the Dalwhinnie warehouse, 40ish years ago. No matter the reason, this '80s single malt reads like a '60s/'70s cheap blend. That's not a complete insult since '60s/'70s cheap blends are better than many top shelf blends today. | Comments: Sitting down and focusing on this whisky, I find it better than I'd expected. This bottle has served as my casual single malt for the past two or three months, pleasant but mostly forgettable. But now the nose has a very pretty arrival, and it doesn't die out after an hour in the glass. The presentation does the palate a disservice, likely choking off angles and layers, but the flavors that remain are comfy. |
| Rating: 73 | Rating: 84 |
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Chillfiltration and dilution do not help either of these Dalwhinnies, but the newer bottling weathers it much better. Is that because the liquid is fresher in the newer bottle, or do the extra 3 points of alcohol help? A little from column A and a little from column B, most likely. The 1980s version is also much darker than the new one, and that certainly ain't due to first-fill sherry casks. In a possibly unpopular move, I'm going to say the newer version is constructed better than the older one. Please forgive me.
