Winter is coming! In honor of the last season of Game of Thrones, the Diageo company (who owns a expert chunk of the distilleries in Scotland) has decided to put out a series of scotch whisky bottlings branded with the emblems of each of the major houses of Westeros. Today we're drinking the House Stark edition from Dalwhinnie and mentally preparing ourselves for the Battle of Winterfell.

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History

The distillery was originally founded in 1897 equally the Strathspey Distillery, but the first business concern venture failed within a yr. In 1898 the distillery was purchased by A.P. Blythe and renamed to the Dalwhinnie distillery.

Between 1905 and 1919, the distillery was owned by an American company who used the Dalwhinnie product and composite it with other spirits for export back to the States. Post-obit the enactment of prohibition, a Scottish whisky blender named Sir James Calder put the distillery back into Scottish hands.

Much similar other whisky distillers in Scotland, Dalwhinnie was purchased in 1926 by the Distillers Company Ltd. — which itself was eventually purchased by the English Diageo company.

Originally the entire process of making whisky was completed on site, but starting time in 1968 Dalwhinnie began purchasing already malted barley from a specialist third party visitor.

Production

  • Larn More: What Is Scotch Whisky?

Co-ordinate to Diageo, the reason why this particular distillery was chosen for their House Stark edition scotch is because it is the highest and coldest distillery in their portfolio. Non only does that sound plumbing equipment to represent the northernmost of the Vii Kingdoms, simply the real-life location in the highlands of Scotland influences the gustatory modality of the spirit every bit it ages.

This spirit starts as a traditional Dalwhinnie Scotch whisky. Malted barley is brought in from a third party distributor and combined with natural h2o from a local source to produce the fermented mash. From there, the spirit is distilled in the same copper pots that have been used for ages and placed into barrels.

Much like the French owned Glenmorangie of the same region, the spirit is placed into previously used American bourbon barrels, which are white oak casks that have been charred. The fact that they are previously used means that the casks don't impart quite every bit strong of a flavor as they did initially, making for a more than fragile spirit.

Packaging

The normal Dalwhinnie scotch bottle is shorter and fatter, but this version is more of a traditional blueprint. There'due south a circular body that tapers to a bulged cervix and topped with a wood and cork stopper.

The most prominent aspect of this product is the Game of Thrones tie-in branding with the House Stark sigil prominently displayed on both the bottle and the decorative tin can that the canteen comes in.

Neat

The whisky itself is bister in color with a good consistency, just like a good delicious scotch should be. In the drinking glass it smells sweetness with a little bit of peat — I get a touch of pear, or perchance some apple, and some floral aspects as well. Information technology's a proficient solid highlands scotch blend of scents.

Taking a sip, the spirit is smoothen with a bit of a bite at the end every bit an palatableness. The flavour itself is virtually pitch perfect for a expert scotch whisky, with some stale fruit and vanilla being the most prominent flavors.

On Ice

Adding a bit of water ice actually makes this spirit much meliorate. The bitterness is gone from the finish, and the fruit flavors are more forward. Whatever peat flavor was previously present has nigh disappeared.

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Overall Rating

I appreciate the Game of Thrones tie-in, and that it seems like Diageo actually put ii seconds of idea into picking the right distilleries for each house. But judging information technology on the spirit solitary, it's a downright boilerplate product.

All reviews are evaluated within the context of their specific spirit classification as specified to a higher place. Click here to bank check out like spirits we have reviewed.

Overall Rating: 3/5
Information technology's a fairly average scotch whisky. Cipher to write home about. However hither I am writing about it on the internet considering their marketing team did their task well (and I'm also stressed about the outcome of the adjacent episode).

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