DALWHINNIE 15

Yes, I will be getting back to scotch in this one. Bear with me, almost there...

I got a little excited about beer in the last post, knowing what my weekend had in store - a whirlwind tour of the 'Brew Ridge Trail' of Nelson County, VA. Six craft breweries, along with the Bold Rock hard cidery, the new Silverback Distillery, more wineries than you could hope to visit in one day, and even a meadery, basically all in a straight line between Charlottesville and the Wintergreen ski resort. The Virginia Distillery Company is also nearby, makers of a damn fine single malt 'Highland' whisky (you can't call it 'scotch'), but hasn't yet opened its doors to visitors until later this year (*update - tasting room is now open).

We didn't hit all these places naturally, but put forth a respectable effort, tasting 20-25 different beers, 6 ciders, 5 wines, and a few meads. Each taste is only an ounce or two, and we're splitting them at that, so it's not like you're getting sloppy drunk. It was however quite a relaxing, tasty little Saturday afternoon indeed.

Next morning... different story. Between the two families in our cabin, we had 4 adults, 4 young children. We had to shake off Sunday morning fogginess enough to feed the whole gang, get them dressed and ready for snow tubing, pack suitcases, load cars, and clean the rental cabin, all by 9:30 AM.

Wintergreen's tubing park, 'The Plunge' is well worth the 2 hour drive from Richmond. The mixture of adrenaline-fueled delirious excitement with more than a tinge of pants crapping fear makes for an intense ninety minute session of 30 mph fun in the snow. It may not look it, but that is a 100 foot drop from top to bottom. Better than a roller coaster.

What you don't notice until you're finished is that you are chilled to the bone. I just spent 2 hours outdoors in sub-20 degree weather and now I'm in my car, heat cranked up, shivering uncontrollably. Go figure. We headed back down the mountain and decided to pop back into Devil's Backbone to refill our growler for a Superbowl er...'Big Game' gathering that evening, still in our ski pants and ridiculous knit skull caps.

Still feeling thoroughly refrigerated, and noticing a headache returning when the smell of beer hit me, I noticed a bottle of Dalwhinnie 15 (doll-WIN-ee) behind the bar. The red-headed bartender (who also yodels amusingly) remembered me from the day before, and poured me the biggest single of neat whisky I have ever been handed while she filled my growler with 'Smokehaus Bock'. One sip and the icy chill and the headache were instantly extinguished. Aaaah...

Turns out Dalwhinnie was an apropos choice for such an occasion. They reportedly boast the highest altitude of any distillery in Scotland, and the town itself lays claim to the coldest average temperature, lowest record temperature, and least hours of sunlight anywhere in the inhabited UK. It seems they might know a thing or two about warming up the mountain-folk. This is the essence of Highland malt whisky to me, brutally harsh conditions imparting strong flavors and character.

This is another of the original set of six 'Classic Malts of Scotland' I kept seeing references to. The name Dalwhinnie comes loosely from the Gaelic word for 'meeting place' in an area known for its clear spring waters and abundant peat supply. The distillery is unique in its use of wooden rather than metal 'worm tubs' (an older version of distillate collection vessels), and I believe its new make is aged only in bourbon oak casks. Without the influence of sherry casks, it would explain its use for caramel coloring, always an eyebrow raiser amongst internet comments (its chill-filtering, as well as shipping off 90% of its product for blends are others). Historically, it has the ignominious distinction of being the first distillery to sell itself to foreign owners, the American firm of Cook & Bernheimer in 1905, although nowadays foreign ownership is practically the norm.

I had owned a bottle of Dalwhinnie once before, but a few years before I started taking notes on this stuff. My friend had been promoted at work, and was given the bottle as a gift; however, he had never quite developed a taste for scotch. I was more than willing to take it off his hands, although I was probably still taking my whisky 'on the rocks' back then, so I hadn't yet gotten the full experience.

Taking into consideration the already powerful aromas of standing inside a brewery/smokehouse and having a hopelessly stuffy nose from a morning spent on top of a snow-covered mountain, I knew most aromatic nuances would be lost on me. I think I got enough of the nose to differentiate the light smoke and spice of the malt from that of the restaurant. The whisky felt warm in my hands, and I could feel my nose clearing right up, reminiscent of hot tea with honey, even smelled a bit like it too. I might have been picking up the warm and yeasty aroma of baking bread, but that was likely from the brewery.

I directed my toast to the moose hanging over a fireplace, and dove in with a larger first sip than I normally take. I got a huge hit of maltiness, just what I would expect from a Highland malt. Sweet, but not so much in a fruity or floral sense. Certainly honey and toffee, maybe almond or walnut, and a mellow herbal note to boot. Is that what heather tastes like? I could feel it warming me up from the inside out, and wondered if there might exist a Scottish equivalent to those St. Bernard rescue dogs you hear about carrying schnapps to stranded Alpine hikers. Actually, I'm not sure that's even a real thing; I might be thinking of a Looney Tunes character.

Not a lot of complexity here, pretty light and simple actually. Maybe that's why it is popular for blends. Smooth as a bowling lane, creamy as a 'white Russian'. The finish was long and warming, letting that lightly smoky malt flavor linger long enough to feel sufficiently thawed. My growler was ready now, so I gave one last nod to the moose and downed the last sip. Normally I'm not big on taxidermy as decor, but "it really tied the room together".


Overall Grade: 85/100, solid B

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