Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Dalwhinnie 15"The Gentle Spirit".
If gentle, smooth, unobtrusive, uncomplicated and approachable are the aims of Dalwhinnie when bottling this expression, then I would say they achieved the goal. Dalwhinnie is certainly all that. From the moment it is in the glass, with no great need to allow it to open up, which is in itself surprising for a 15 year old Whisky;  You are immediately but gently greeted with sweet honey malt aromas, that seems to encourage you to dive right in and enjoy all this malt has to deliver. However here in lays the problem for me with Dalwhinnie. We are not quaffing a mass produced, over marketed, everyday blend to appeal to everybody . When we buy a malt Whisky such as Dalwhinnie we are looking for more than run of the mill . We are looking for something distinctive, a malt distillery signature if you will. Some describe as a Malt Moment. With Dalwhinnie I feel that some of that malt characteristic is lost in the apparent quest for smoothness, gentleness and ease of approach.          

Appearance: Amber -2. This is a very light malt and although not stated does not appear to contain, in my opinion, E150a

Nose: Sweet honey, Nectar, Dry champagne and a very light touch of smoke (campfire)

Taste: This is a well layered malt with just enough character to keep a malt aficionado entertained for some time. However also with well balanced and delicate honey, nectar, lemon, orange zest, grain and finishing with short dry smokey tea notes, this would certainly appeal to the newcomer to malt whisky. Gentle it is.    

Body: Light in color, light in style. No sign of oiliness in the body, which I feel detracts from the experience. As such, I do suspect this has, unfortunately, been quite heavily chill filtered. It finishes short sweet and dry.

Conclusion: For me the Dalwhinnie, represents a challenge. Not for the whisky but more for how to rate it and to whom I would recommend it. On one hand, the relative simplicity and gentle nature of the Dalwhinnie for a single malt suggests it would be a perfect entry level malt but given the inflated pricepoint of this Malt, it has priced itself out of that market. On the other hand a seasoned whisky buff looking to spend $100AU on a malt would be looking for far more of a challenge that the Dalwhinnie represents. In conclusion I might best look at it this way. Is the Dalwhinnie 15 a good whisky? Yes. Is the Dalwhinnie 15 a good malt? Yes. Is there more interesting and engaging malts for the price?  Yes. Would I personally buy Dalwhinnie 15 again? If I am to be honest, probably not. But then again for the right price perhaps.