Dalwhinnie Winter's Gold Review

“A Hazy Shade of Winter”

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Central

Brand: Dalwhinnie Winter's Gold

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 43 %

Colour: Deep Gold (Artificially Coloured)

Room Temperature:

Nose: Young and Light. Do I detect a hint of Sulphur? I'm not quite sure. I do find Sweet Barley, Buttered Toast, Yeast, Creamy Toffee, Golden Syrup, Brown Sugar, light Vanilla, Heather-Honey, Almonds, Straw, Young Oak, Dried Fruits, Pineapple, Nectarine, Orange, Apple, Floral Perfume, Ginger Bread, a sprinkle of Mint and a very distant hint of Smoke. Most of these Aromas are quite Faint. On the Nose, Creamy Barley, Honey, Syrup and Citrus are the main drivers. It's not really bad but it misses Balance. The Alcohol is not integrated. I don't think that there's a lot of Whisky older than say 5 Years in Winter's Gold. There's a clear Unfinished feel to this Spirit.     

Palate: Slightly Thin, Spicy and Bitter Sweet. The Wood and Wood Spice are quite present. I find Sweet Barley, Creamy Toffee, Golden Syrup, Heather-Honey, Cocoa Powder, Icing Sugar, Straw, Young Oak, Nectarine, Orange, Apple, Banana, Pepper, Ginger, Cinnamon and Mint.  

Finish: Unfinished, Middle-Long, Bitter Sweet and Herbal. Quite Dry in the end. Again, Wood and Wood Spice are dominant Flavours. I also find Sweet Malt, Golden Syrup, Brown Sugar, Heather Honey, Toffee, light Vanilla, Straw, Grass, Orange, Nectarine, Banana Flavoured Candies, Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger and Mint. On the Palate and in the Finish, Winter's Gold reminds me of Peppered Vodka or German "Obstler" from time to time.

I added a bit of Water and on the Nose you get more Floral Perfume - and Citrus notes. Lots of Creamy Barley as well. But Palate and Finish do not take added Water very well. You can add a little Water for Nosing purposes but it's better to sip Winter's Gold neat.

Frozen: In this form Winter's Gold becomes quite syrupy. As obviously was to be expected, it's very difficult to pick up Aromas on the Nose. I get Barley and perhaps a Fruity note. On the Palate I find Creamy Barley, Honey, Citrus and Oak. And perhaps a tiny tad of Smoke. The Finish becomes real Short, is Bitter-Sweet and still very Oaky. I must say that the Frozen condition doesn't bring significant changes to the general Aroma and Flavour profile of Winter's Gold. With the exception of the Smoke I found on the Palate. The frozen state does help to hide some of the imperfections of the Spirit. But it also increases the feeling of drinking a German "Obstler" (Fruit Liqueur) instead of a Single Malt Whisky.

Rating: 79 

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 19.5 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 20

General Remarks: The Dalwhinnie Distillery is the highest -, coldest - and most remote Scottish Distillery. It was originally named Strathspey (a village nearby) and was founded in 1897. The pure spring water comes from Lochan An Doire-Uaine, the highest source of any malt, located at 2000 feet in the Drumochter Hills. The Distillery is now part of the Diageo group and represents the Central Highlands in their Classic Malt Range. The Dalwhinnie is also used in the known Buchanan's - and Black & White Blends. 

In August/September 2015, Diageo (as part of their strategy to launch NAS versions of their Classic Malt range) introduced Dalwhinnie Winter's Gold to honour the influence that the cold has on the Dalwhinnie Spirit. For the Winter's Gold, the distillery only uses Spirit produced between October and March. It matures in a mix of American and European Oak and is Chill-Filtered before bottling. Also, Diageo recommends Winter's Gold to be served frozen following the path of the Snow Grouse and JW Gold. Well, today's Whisky World is full of NAS Whiskies, accompanied by a nice story as we all know. It's priced at between 35 and 55 US Dollars, depending on where you live (December 2015).

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: This is the first Single Malt that I have tasted where it came to my mind that the Spirit gave some Flavour to the Wood instead of the other way around. I hope this is not the future of Whisky! Because despite all the slick packaging, nice names and beautiful stories it can't be denied that a lot of the current NAS expressions simply miss Mature Flavours and Aromas as well as Balance. Winter's Gold is no exception to the rule I'm afraid. It was most likely launched to release the pressure on the stocks used for the 15 Years. I guess this means we will see the 15 Years occasionally while the supermarkets will be flooded with Winter's Gold. Is that a good thing? No, it isn't in my opinion. The 15 Years was a light but fully matured Summer Dram. Not spectacular but nice as an aperitif. Instead we get Winter's Gold a young, simple, unbalanced and immature Single Malt. And it's slightly more expensive as well, depending on where you live. I'm sorry but I won't be tempted by fantasy names and nice stories. Because it's what's in the bottle that matters! And in that respect, while not really bad, Winter's Gold simply disappoints.

Jan van den Ende                                                               December 7, 2015