Whisky of The Month #2: Dalwhinnie, 15 Years Old

Before we plunge into the Dalwhinnie, I gotta answer the question I just know everybody is dying to ask: what's the difference between whiskey and whisky? Well, it's semantics more than anything else but serious drinkers of the stuff will slap you around (metaphorically speaking) if you get it wrong. So:

Scotch and whisky refer to the stuff that comes only from Scotland. You can't have American scotch or even American whisky. (The Scots/whisky industry have worked hard to get both protected as copyrights.) However, everybody (meaning the rest of the world) wanted to get in on the action, so they were handed a vowel and got down to the business of making whiskey. (When I get around to a bourbon, sour mash or a rye we can start into those definitions.)

But to business:

Color: Pale Gold

Body: Smooth and not at all harsh. Some whiskys when you take a nice whiff of them will singe your nose hairs- not this. Smells good and goes down smooth.

Palate: Honey, lots of honey- with just a hint of peat. (The hastily tapped out note on my phone reads: 'Honey. Lots of it.')

Finish: Very warming... almost the perfect level of warming. Not too harsh and very gradual. Sneaks up on you- but pleasantly.

Overall: Michael Jackson scores this one at 76. (Out of 100) I think that might be a wee bit too low for my liking. He also described the nosy as 'faintly phenolic' amongst other things. Phenols seem to the resins they use in plastics. So he thought it smelled like plastic resin? Yeah, I didn't get that at all.

This Dalwhinnie was smooth, delicious and while it had some peat- it was the perfect amount of peat. I'm not against peat per say- a lot of the Islay scotches tend to go heavy on the peat and when the mood strikes me, nothing goes down better than a nice Islay. (Lagavulin 16 years old is the epitomy of peat-y whisky. It's also pricey as hell.)

I'd say *** out of ****. This was a very nice Scotch- but I don't think it quite rises to the level of excellent.