Dalwhinnie

The single malt Scotch whisky from the Dalwhinnie Distillery is one of the most accessible whiskies in Scotland. The mild Highland Whisky pampers your palate with notes of heather honey, caramel and floral notes. Discover the softer side of the Scottish Highlands with the Dalwhinnie 15 year old, an ideal entry-level whisky.

About Dalwhinnie

Where does Dalwhinnie Whisky come from? The Dalwhinnie Distillery is located in the centre of Scotland in the most literal sense. With its location in the central Highlands directly on the A9 motorway, the distillery is perfect for a short visit. The A9 motorway connects Scotland's south and north and stretches from the Lowlands to the North Highlands. It runs from Edinburgh via the Highland capital of Inverness up to the north coast in Thurso. The Dalwhinnie Distillery is located in a valley at the foothills of the Cairngorm National Park.

Dalwhinnie was once the highest whisky distillery in Scotland. At 326 metres above sea level, the pretty white buildings with their dark pagoda roofs tower over the road that leads from the south into the heart of the Highlands. The distillery is still fond of the title today, although it was replaced by Braeval (also known as Braes of Glenlivet) in 1974. With 355 metres of altitude, the little-known distillery has thus snatched the title from Dalwhinnie. However, Dalwhinnie is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Scottish whisky landscape. The town once served as a hub for important trade and smuggling routes. Later, Dalwhinnie also retained its importance as a railway station for the trade route between Speyside and the south of Scotland. Fittingly, the name Dalwhinnie means "meeting place" in Gaelic.

Fun fact about Dalwhinnie: Thanks to its location, the distillery is not only the highest distillery in Scotland, but also the coldest. Dalwhinnie plays with this peculiarity time and again, as in the naming of its bottlings Dalwhinnie Winter's Gold and the Game of Thrones special edition Dalwhinnie Winter's Frost Haus Stark. Due to its exposed location, there is a meteorological measuring station in a small white cottage on the site. For many years, it was part of the distillery manager's job to read and transmit the weather data. Today, this is done automatically. At 6 degrees, Dalwhinnie has the coldest average temperature in the whole of the UK. But fortunately, the whisky keeps you warm.

3 reasons to love Dalwhinnie

1) Because hardly any whisky is more Highland.

2) Because heather honey never goes out of fashion.

3) Because there is no way around Dalwhinnie on the journey into the heart of whisky.

What does Dalwhinnie whisky taste like?

Dalwhinnie is known as a smooth, warm single malt with subtle notes of honey, heather and caramel. Floral aromas and light fruity notes resonate in the flavour of Dalwhinnie whiskies. You may detect a fine background smoke in Dalwhinnie single malts. Malt and delicate nutty notes are also often associated with Dalwhinnie.

Recommendations in the Dalwhinnie range

Dalwhinnie is one of the Scottish distilleries that focuses primarily on one bottling: The Dalwhinnie 15 year old is the distillery's clear trademark and the best-selling whisky in the range. Dalwhinnie 15 year old represents the Highland region in the range of classic malts from its owner Diageo. With its mature age of 15 years, the malt convinces with a pleasant and comparatively low price. The bottling is therefore perfect as an entry-level whisky and as a gift.

If you would like to extend your flavour experience with Dalwhinnie, reach for the Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition. This is reissued every year and is therefore launched on the market as a vintage bottling. It is usually also 15 years old and has been matured in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks. This post-maturing gives the Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition an extra flavour of dark fruits and spices. A great addition to the standard version.

The Dalwhinnie Winters Gold is only distilled in winter. The copper tubes on the outside, in which the alcohol vapour condenses, are then particularly cold. This results in less copper contact, which makes Dalwhinnie Winters Gold somewhat stronger in flavour. The distillery recommends serving this bottling chilled.

A popular special edition is the Dalwhinnie Winter's Frost Haus Stark Game of Thrones. This bottling is part of Diageo's Game of Thrones range, which was created in honour of the popular HBO fantasy series. The limited fan edition comes with stylish gift packaging and the House Stark crest. A must-have for Game of Thrones fans.

How is Dalwhinnie Single Malt made?

Dalwhinnie single malt is made from delicately peated malt. While the heavily smoky Islay whiskies emphasise the smoke, Dalwhinnie only uses peat as a subtle seasoning. The smoke content is so low that it is usually not noticeable when enjoying Dalwhinnie whiskies. We would therefore categorise Dalwhinnie as a non-smoky single malt Scotch.

Dalwhinnie processes its malt in the distillery in a Full Lauter Mash Tun with a capacity of 7.3 tonnes. Fermentation takes place in six traditional wooden wash backs. Fermentation times range from 60 hours during the week to 110 hours at weekends. Dalwhinnie distils on two pot stills and currently produces around 1.4 million litres of raw spirit annually.

A special feature of Dalwhinnie is the use of Worm Tub Condensers. This traditional cooling method is now only used sparingly in Scotland as it is associated with a lower yield. Worm tubs are copper tubes through which the hot alcohol vapour is passed from the still. They are placed in a cold water bath outside the distillery. This allows the alcohol vapour to condense in the cold copper tubes. Interestingly, the use of worm tub condensers results in a more sulphurous New Make spirit. This heavier spirit usually results in a stronger, meatier or spicier whisky. Other examples of whisky distilleries with worm tubs include Mortlach, Edradour, Craigellachie or Old Pulteney. Thanks to the long maturation and bottling at a low volume percentage of 43% by volume, Dalwhinnie remains a mild, pleasant single malt. The unusual method may lend the whisky a certain depth that connoisseurs will appreciate.

The history of Dalwhinnie

The Dalwhinnie Distillery was built in 1897, making it one of the older whisky distilleries from the late 19th century. It is actually surprising that a whisky distillery was not built on this site earlier. After all, the location was always known as a hub for trade routes. In the heyday of the moonshiners and whisky smugglers, plenty of whisky was smuggled here hidden under the thick skins of Highland cows.

Dalwhinnie was founded by John Grant, George Sellar and Alexander Mackenzie in 1897, but initially not under the name Dalwhinnie, but as Strathspey Distillery. However, the owners were not very successful and had to sell the distillery just one year later to A. P. Blyth & Sons and John Sommerville & Co. They renamed the distillery Dalwhinnie. In 1905, they sold Dalwhinnie to the American company Cook & Bernheimer. This made Dalwhinnie the first Scottish distillery to go under the management of a non-British company. Today, this is the rule rather than the exception.

In 1919, Cook & Bernheimer sold Dalwhinnie to the blender Macdonald Greenless, who later merged with DCL. DCL eventually became the Diageo spirits group, which still owns the distillery today. In 1934, the distillery was partially destroyed by a major fire. The renovation work took a whole four years, meaning that Dalwhinnie was only able to be put back into operation in 1938.

In 1987, Dalwhinnie 15 Years was included in the Classic Malts range by owner Diageo (then still United Distillers). The Classic Malts represent the Scottish whisky regions with the exception of Campbeltown, where Diageo does not own a distillery. The representatives of the Classic Malts include: Dalwhinnie for the Highlands, Oban for the West Highlands, Talisker for the Isle of Skye, Glenkinchie for the Lowlands, Cragganmore for Speyside and Lagavulin for the Isle of Islay. In 1968, the malting floors were abandoned. Dalwhinnie was given its own visitor centre in 1991.

Figures & Facts about Dalwhinnie

Address: Dalwhinnie, Inverness-shire, PH19 1AB

Founded: 1897 by John Grant, George Sellar and Alexander Mackenzie

Region: Highland Whisky

Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Smoke: Lightly peated / delicately smoky/peaty

Owner: Diageo

Status: active

Capacity: approx. 1,400,000 lpa (litres per year)

Distillation stills: 1 wash still (17,000 l), 1 spirit still (14.000 l)

Washbacks: 6, wood
Mashtun: Full Lauter, 7.3 tonnes

Water: Allt an t'Sluie Burn

Visitor Centre: Yes

Phone: +44 (0)1540 672219

Website: www.malts.com