Dalwhinnie 15 Years Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Central

Brand: Dalwhinnie

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  15 Years

ABV:  43 %

Colour: Bright Pale Gold

Nose: Fruity, Floral and Dry with Malt, Honey, Wax, Heather, Green Apple, Toast and Butter, Straw/Grass, Apricot, Citrus (Nectarine), Oak, Vanilla, Brown Sugar, light Sherry and a hint of Peat. Bit of Alcohol as well. 

Palate: Rather Thin, Bitter-Sweet and Spicy Delivery with Barley Sugar,  Pepper, Licorice, Citrus, Grass, Heather, Caramel and Walnuts. 

Finish: Bitter-Sweet with Malt, Honey, Almonds, Grass, Heather, Herbs, Red Berries, Caramel, Coffee and Spices.

With a bit of Water, the Nose becomes even more Malty and Floral. I don't find significant changes on the Palate and in the Finish. But you can add a bit of Water as this will further open the Nose and get rid of the Alcohol.

Rating: 83

Nose: 21.5 - Taste:  20.5  - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Dalwhinnie Distillery is the highest - 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. It is also suggested that the Dalwhinnie is used in the Johnnie Walker - and Black & White Blends. It's priced at around 50 US Dollars and that's a bit expensive for what it offers.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good 

Conclusion: Almost Lowland Characteristics. It reminded me a lot of the Deanston 12 as well. Fresh and Fruity on the Nose and rather light on the Palate. This makes the Dalwhinnie 15 a good Aperitif for one of those Summer afternoons. You might even consider throwing in an ice-cube. It's quite easy-going and lots of people will probably like this Single Malt for it. But it's a bit too light and mainstream for me to be honest. Too little to discover in the Dalwhinnie 15 years. Harmless but forgettable. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                     May 1, 2013

Dalmore 15 Years Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland 

Brand: The Dalmore

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  15 Years

ABV:  40 %

Colour: Dark Amber/Mahogany (Artificially Coloured) 

Nose: Quite a Rich and Full Nose with very defined notes of Malt, Orange, Chocolate, Sherry, Oak, Nuts, Dried Fruits like Raisins and Sultanas, Brown Sugar, Treacle, Toffee/Butterscotch, Honey and a light presence of Sulphur. The Fruits in the background include Pineapple and Pear. Black Espresso to round it all off.

Palate: Follows the Nose with Malted Barley, Orange, Caramel, Raisins, Sherry, Oak, Almonds and Spices like Ginger and Cloves. Some hints of Aniseed, Lemon, Coffee and Licorice.

Finish: Sweet at first but quickly becoming Dry with Malt, Caramel, Oak, Toffee, Pepper, Nuts, Black Espresso and Chocolate.

I added a bit of Water and the Nose becomes more Fruity and quite Malty. Lots of Honey, Toffee and Butterscotch as well. Palate and Finish do not improve. You can certainly play with a bit of Water but be careful not to overdo it.

Rating: 85.5

Nose: 22 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21.5

General Remarks: In 1263,King Alexander III was almost gored by a mighty Stag. One of the ancestors of the Mackenzie Clan saved him with a single arrow shot. As a reward the Clan won the right to bear a Stag's Head with twelve (Royal) points to its antlers in their Coat of Arms. The Mackenzie Family later became the owners of The Dalmore Distillery and added the Stag emblem to their bottles. The Distillery was founded in 1839 by Alexander Matheson and is located in the town of Alness in the Northern Highlands. It's currently in the possession of United Spirits from India, the owners of Whyte & Mackay. The Diageo Group is bidding to buy United Spirits at the moment. The 15 Years was released in 2007. It matured for 12 years in American White Oak Ex-Bourbon Casks and was finished for another 3 years in three different Ex-Sherry Butts namely Matusalem, Apostoles and Amoroso. It costs around 70 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good 

Conclusion: Well-Crafted Single Malt although it should have been bottled at 43% or higher. High concentration of Malt, Sherry, Chocolate and Orange. If you dig that, the Dalmore 15 will not disappoint you. I find it tasteful, slightly better than the 12 Years but a bit one-sided. Love the Espresso note though!

Jan van den Ende                                                                      April 26, 2013

Tusk - Fleetwood Mac - 1979

Songs: Over & Over, The Ledge, Think About Me, Save Me A Place, Sara, What Makes You Think You´re The One, Storms, That´s All For Everyone, Not That Funny, Sisters Of The Moon, Angel, That´s Enough For Me, Brown Eyes, Never Make Me Cry, I Know I´m Not Wrong, Honey Hi, Beautiful Child, Walk A Thin Line, Tusk, Never Forget.

Type of Music: Mixture of New Wave and Pop-Rock.

Comments:

After the overwhelming success of Rumours the Mac went back to the studio to stop and think. I´m sure that Lindsey took the lead. He must have told the others something in the line of “ Whatever we´re gonna do, it´s not gonna be a Rumours part II”. I´m not so sure if the others agreed right away. Whatever time it took to resolve the issue is not known. It is known however that it took almost 2 years and a lot of cash to record their new album that was released in 1979.   

Tusk is the name of the record. It´s a double album but actually it´s not. What we have here is Lindsey´s Solo Album that consists of 9 short rather experimental New Wave type of songs , some of them recorded in one of the back rooms of his House.

I can clearly see the faces of the other members of the Mac when Lindsey presented them his new songs. They probably said something like “That´s all very nice Lindsey Boy but who´s gonna buy this rather different material? “ .

Of course Lindsey stood behind his songs and in the end the group decided to “ hide “ Lindsey´s songs between the more conservative material written by Christine and Stevie. This way, they must have thought, both our audience and our artistic leader should be satisfied.

The public reacted more positive than Warner Brothers expected but Tusk´s sales came nowhere near those of Rumours  and the Album only boosted a few rather low scoring hit singles. The best of them is the Album´s Title track recorded live at the Dodger Stadium and featuring the Southern California Trojan Marching band.

So far as history is concerned. Let´s look at the actual music now. For sure Lindsey´s songs show original ideas. Sometimes that works fine like in That´s All For Everyone and Not That Funny. For sure they indicate a possible direction of future Solo and Mac material. But in other cases I'm less impressed. Songs like That´s Enough For Me and a few others are too raw to be really enjoyed.

Christine´s songs are as pleasant as always. They do not match her songs on Rumours in terms of hooks but they have won in terms of smoothness and fluency.

For me it´s Stevie however who steels the show here and sets the basic mood for the Album. Everyone knows the classic Sara. But everyone should know Beautiful Child , Stevie´s favourite song that she performed Live during the Say You Will tour.

Stevie is also responsible for the haunting Sisters of the Moon, a song that I view among the best that Tusk has to offer.

Many times, Tusk has been compared to the White Album as it contains a number of different musical styles. I wouldn´t go that far. But for sure it is the last Mac record for some time to come that sounds as a Group statement rather than a collection of songs performed by the individual parts. It´s not an easy record if you listen to it for the first time. But it ages well like all good wine.           

Rating: *******( 7 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  It´s not the place to start your Fleetwood Mac collection. But if you dig the Mac, you will find Tusk a more than rewarding listen. It´s difficult to find sometimes and it´s never cheap.