Finally Dalwhinnie!

Hoping you like it, and that it isn't too light for you. Dalwhinnie was an early favorite of mine, and it's one of those whiskies that sometimes appeals to people who aren't whisky drinkers - making it a good choice to pour for a lady friend or anyone who isn't a whisky drinker but you think might have an open mind about spirits.

Look for the floral notes on the nose, and sweetness on the palate. It has less sherry than Highland Park or the Solera Reserve, but without sherry in the way you can taste the whisky clean and unmasked.

Do let us know what you think, whether you like it or no...

Bart

of drams of this so called yummy stuff.

Try it on a 'clean' palate (not right after Mexican food; not right after a Rob Roy made with Martini&Rossi and Laphroaig; not right after cleaning the hen house; and particularly: not after dairy products).

Lady friend? Not you too now Bart....!

Johanna

Bart wrote:

Oh man, this stuff is light. I'm going to drink a couple more drams tonight. But last night I was thinking it was very light, in the same way as the Glenlivet 12 I had before. I can't say it's yummy, but I'm still learning to appreciate single malt scotch. I can say the Highland Park was yummy right after I had my first sip of it. I could definitely taste the difference in that. Maybe it's the "sherry" that I like. Anyway, I'll have a better chance of studying it this weekend when I'm more relaxed. Maybe I need to take a scotch appreciation class so I can learn to recognize the finer points in this scotch whisky.

Hope you enjoy it. It's light, and in some ways a little like the Glenlivet, but has some nice qualities of its own. Dalwhinnie distillery is far inland, a long way from the sea (if that makes any difference - there are certainly people who say it doesn't), and if I remember my whisky books correctly it's at a very high elevation and quite cold in winter. The distillery serves or has served as a weather station.

Perhaps you do like the richness of the sherried malts; certainly many people do. The Solera Reserve and the Highland Park both do have some sherry, but sherry is just one flavor among many. If you get a chance try a Glenfarclas

The best "scotch appreciation class" is just to keep tasting and keep appreciating.

But you can learn a lot at a tutored tasting, and they're fun besides, if you find one.

Bart

Well I did mean as a beverage, not on the dear lass herself!

And I suppose there's some unintentional sexism in the idea that a lady would automatically prefer a milder gentler malt - I don't feel that in my heart, because I know better - although in my limited experience enthusiasm for pungent scotch has skewed male... I can think of plausible reasons why a statistically typical woman would make a better scotch noser/taster than the typical male, in fact. And at the Glenmorangie tasting I attended recently the audience was one fourth to one third female. Some might have been dragged there reluctantly by a persistent husband or boy-friend, but it was clear that many women there were quite intent on studying the drams at hand; while Glenmorangie probably wouldn't be considered a pungent malt, their enthusiam and intelligent questions showed how familiar some were with single malts. (Unlike a few years ago when girls were asking Frank McHardy "What's a single-malt?" and "What does 'whisky' mean?" - Now it was, "Where does Glenmorangie,PLC source it's barrels?")

Bart

Time to get radical: drink it BEFORE dinner.

Well I did mean as a beverage, not on the dear lass herself!

And I suppose there's some unquestioned sexism in the idea that a lady would automatically prefer a milder gentler malt - I don't feel that in my heart, because I know better - although in my limited experience enthusiasm for pungent scotch has skewed male... I can think of plausible reasons why a statistically typical woman would make a better scotch noser/taster than the typical male, in fact. And at the Glenmorangie tasting I attended recently the audience was one fourth to one third female. Some might have been dragged there reluctantly by a persistent husband or boy-friend, but it was clear that many women there were quite intent on studying the drams at hand; while Glenmorangie probably wouldn't be considered a pungent malt, their enthusiam and intelligent questions showed how familiar some were with single malts. (Unlike a few years ago when girls were asking Frank McHardy "What's a single-malt?" and "What does 'whisky' mean?" - Now it was, "Where does Glenmorangie,PLC source it's barrels?")

Bart

P.S. I hope I didn't post this twice - system crash during posting - Arghh!

My reply is at the bottom.

Hi Von Fourche,

I'm a relative beginner too (

No worries Bart, it has long been my finding that the whisky industry has been buried under an unquestioned sexism. My take on this is not that women's tastes run away from whisky but that the industry has traditionally been run by crusty old white men targeting the same demographic and their marketing often reflects this mindset. I suspect much of this is generational and hopefully the tide will turn once more women take an active interest in whisky and become involved in the industry.

Nonetheless it is still frustrating when you have someone as influential and well known as Jim Murray including some completely moronic, sexist comments in the tasting notes of his latest book. Comparing a Balblair

Johanna

Bart wrote:

Yes, I find Dalwhinnie to be light and a little too sweet for my tastes. I think most of the Highlands are light and delicate. Some have very interesting flavor, but very subtle and require a lot of concentration to really enjoy. I much prefer a more robust malt. The Highland Park you mentioned is a nice robust malt, but if you want really intense flavor, try some of the malts from Islay.

Regards, jimbo