Dalwhinnie Distillery
Dalwhinnie, Inverness-shire
History: In 1897, John Grant, George Sellar and Alexander Mackenzie from Kingussie started building what would become Scotland’s highest working distillery. As you drive north, this iconic distillery can be seen standing tall just off the A9 motorway. Constructed at a cost of £10,000, it was initially named Strathspey, but a year after it had opened, its owners ran into financial troubles. After it had changed hands, the new owners changed the name to Dalwhinnie and it has been this way ever since. “Dalwhinnie” means, “meeting place” in Gaelic, and this distillery is centrally location in the Highlands. In 1905, America’s largest distillers, Cook & Bernheimer of New York, bought Dalwhinnie. It was the first time a foreign company had taken ownership of a Scottish distillery (sadly this is commonplace today). Since 1926 until today, the distillery has been owned by whisky giants Diageo, who also own about a quarter of all Scotland’s distilleries.
The whisky: This whisky is part of the drinks company’s iconic Classic Malt range, which includes Glenkinchie, Lagavulin, Cragganmore, Talisker and Oban as well as Dalwhinnie. I've always been a big fan of the whisky that comes from this distillery. The house style is elegant with a light, fruity palate. They have new releases coming out all the time, some with a hefty price tag, with the main brands being the 15-year-old and the Dalwhinnie Winter's Gold bottling.
Favourite tipple: You can't go wrong with the 15-year-old: for its price, it’s one of the best available.
Why visit? Dalwhinnie’s visitor centre opened in 1992 as part of a 3.2 million refurbishment of the distillery and includes a shop and café. It is also possible to take a 45-minute tour of the distillery facility. Costing £12, it lets you experience every part of the process of creating the whisky. At the end of the tour, visitors can sample two Dalwhinnie single malts along with some chocolate that has been created to combine with the whisky. Knowledgeable guides talk visitors through the tasting, giving advice on the best way to appreciate whisky and suggesting other whisky and food combinations. Although the distillery is open for most of the year, it's best to call ahead to book a place on the tour.
Geek alert: The main whisky coming out of the distillery is the 15-year-old, which is unusual because these days there will be a 10 or 12 year statement on a standard distillery bottling. Whisky expert Dave Broom says this is to do with the heavy, sulphur-ish new-make spirit it produces which means that it takes 15 years in casks for Dalwhinnie to emerge fully.
Interesting fact: The remote location was chosen for the profusion of local peat to dry the barley. The beautifully clean water source and proximity to the Highland railway line also played a part. Dalwhinnie sits at an altitude of 351m and holds the dubious distinction of being the coldest settlement in the UK, with an average temperature of 6?C.
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