At Dalwhinnie, clear worts and long ferments create a starting point form which one might expect a light floral whisky. However, the stills are run in such a way as to minimise the conversation between malt and copper, and when this is combined with the use of worm tubs to condense, the result is a heavy and somewhat sulphurous malt. After fifteen years in cask though, this is combined into the whisky, and the thick honeyed and almost sticky quality that Dalwhinnie is so famous for, shines through.
Nose: Aromatic, toffee, fruit salad, lush nectarine, custard. Floral, apple blossom, honeysuckle. Apple peels, pear, touch of smoke.
Palate: Malty. Walnuts steeped in manuka honey with vanilla sponge. Gentle smoke weaves its way through the cereal with a touch of spice.
Finish: Long, malty, walnut, almond.