Name: Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold
Brand: Dalwhinnie
Rating: 2 (2 reviews)

Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold takes over the idea of The Snow Grouse: it’s a malt whisky designed to be drunk ice cold, straight from the freezer. Dalwhinnie usually stays below the radar and doesn’t seem to be as marketing-driven as some others, but the story-driven NAS hype affects all distilleries eventually.

I’ll review the whisky neat though, as I don’t think chilling whiskies makes much sense. It takes away most of the delicate flavours. Although I have to admit it also takes away the impression of sweetness, which in this case could be welcome.

Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold
(43%, OB 2015)

Nose: fresh and fruity, sweet, entirely on peaches, honey and oranges. Hints of vanilla (newish American oak) and mint. Bright malty notes. Soft gingery notes. Most pleasant, actually quite… summery. Summer’s Gold?

Mouth: starts fruity again, with a fairly young profile of malt and oranges, and a honeyed sweetness. Quickly followed by oak spices (pepper and ginger). Some pencil shavings. Cinnamon. Fades on hints of Poire Williams or peach schnapps.

Finish: medium long, but rather rough, bittersweet, with slightly synthetic hints of oranges.

Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold seems to hold the middle between proper malt whisky and some kind of fruit-flavoured alcopop. Which may well be exactly what they were aiming for? Mind you, this could work as a first step into the world of single malts. Around € 40.

Score: 74/100

1Comment

Add yours

1

kallaskander on 6 October 2015 at 11:15

Hi there,

Winter Gold gives the impression of a lost concept from the Cold War between whisky and vodka. That war is over, whisky won and the Drinks Giants no longer cry crocodile tears that the evil clear vodka is taking away market shares from their poor brown whisky.

Nobody believed them anyway because the owners of the dangerous vodka brands were the same owners that cried over too little turnover of their whisky brands.

That times are over and Winters Gold feels like a relic somehow. But at the same time it is the wasting of a very good idea.

Dalwhinnie does indeed make two different whiskies in summer and winter due to their usage of wormtubs that have different influence on the condensation of the new spirit during the seasons.

It would have been a good concept to offer two Gold whiskies, Summers Gold 15yo from pure summer distillation casks and Winters Gold – but from 15yo winter distillation casks.

Greetings

kallaskander

Related posts