| Dalwhinnie
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Dalwhinnie, Inverness-shire
PH19 1AB Scotland
Tel: +44 (0) 1540 672219 / Fax: +44 (0) 1540 672228
Viewer's Comments about Dalwhinnie
 When
the water you start with comes from the highest mountain source
of any malt, you expect something rather fine. And Dalwhinnie™,
for whisky writer Roger Voss a "surprisingly soft whisky...from
Scotland's highest, most remote distillery", does not disappoint.
The source, Lochan an Doire-Uaine, (Gaelic for "lake in
the green grove"), lies at 2,000 feet in the Drumochter
Hills. From it, all the pure spring water used in distilling
Dalwhinnie™ flows over rich local peat through Allt an
t'Sluic, the distillery burn. No other distillery may use the
water from this source – therefore no other distillery
is able to yield Dalwhinnie’s™ uniquely clean, accessible,
malty-sweet taste, giving way to a smooth and smoky Highland
mouthfeel.
Dalwhinnie distillery, which was originally named Strathspey,
was founded in 1897 by John Grant, Alexander Mackenzie and
George Sellar. The distillery is situated between the gentle,
grassy style of the Lowlands and the austere, firm body of
Speyside, which begins some 25 miles to the north. The style
is that of the Highlands; a resilient marriage of gentleness
and spirit. As befits a malt from such a place, Dalwhinnie™
defies simple description.  Too
gratifying for an aperitif alone, yet too gentle and delicate
to be thought rugged or unapproachable; this combination of
delicacy and depth sets it apart. Dalwhinnie is now owned
by Diageo and represents the Highlands in their Classic Malts
range.
“The Highland peatiness is very restrained at first,
balanced by heathery sweetness, but intensifies toward the
finish. Clear flavours against a very clean background. A
good aperitif.” Michael Jackson, whisky writer and expert.
Courtesy of Dalwhinnie Distillery
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DALWHINNIE SINGLE MALT SCOTCH
15 YEAR
Strength: 43% ABV
Appearance: Gold.
Nose: A big, crisp,
dry and very aromatic nose with hints of heather and
peat.
Body: Light to medium.
Palate: Smooth, soft
and lasting flavours of heather, honey sweetness and
vanilla followed by deeper citrus-fruit flavours and
hints of malted bread.
Finish: Long, lingering,
surprisingly intense finish that starts sweetly, then
gives way to smoke, peat and malt.
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Dalwhinnie
Whisky Distillery
"Many late Victorian distilleries were
bravely sited; "madly located" Dalwhinnie, one of
the highest of all distilleries - at 1073 feet - and now home
to the Classic Malts’ delicate and smoky 15 year old
Highland malt, was no exception." "Why on earth,
you may think," continued the writer of this memorable
epithet, "would anybody choose to build a distillery
in this desolate, wind-sliced, rain-lashed patch of Highland
wilderness?"
A good reason, certainly, was that it was close to the geographic
center of the Highlands and so enjoyed easy access to the
reliable link to market offered by the new Highland Railway.
This helped the distillery to survive its often fragile beginnings,
just as surely as Dalwhinnie's setting had earlier helped
the village itself to gain an importance beyond its size.
The Gaelic word from which the name Dalwhinnie comes is Dail-coinneeamh,
also spelt Dail-Chuinnidh, which translates as "plain
of meetings." Here on these high windswept pastures between
the Grampian and Monadhliath mountain ranges, 18th Century
cattle drovers would pause on their journey south, over the
Drumochter pass to the great trysts or cattle markets of Crieff
and Falkirk. Where it can, Dalwhinnie retains the old ways.
Traditional wood is still used for its washbacks, for example.
Just two copper stills, as there have always been, send the
alcohol into the lye pipes on its way to the stillman. He
skillfully separates the "foreshots" and "feints"
before allowing the purest middle part of the distillation
to reach the oak casks in which Dalwhinnie™ will rest
on its way to maturity.
Increasingly rare wooden worm-tubs, a landmark outside the
distillery as distinctive as its pagoda roofs, help this remain
a spirit of real character. Old hands will say that the slow
deliberate condensation, which takes place in a copper worm,
can't be matched in more modern condensing vessels. Perhaps
it gives Dalwhinnie™ that little extra body?
As well as being a fine distillery, Dalwhinnie also has the
distinction of being an official weather station, with one
of the lowest recorded average temperatures in Great Britain!
THE DISTILLERY TODAY
An opportunity to sample the 'Gentle Spirit' of the glen at
one of the highest distilleries in the land, Dalwhinnie is
a wonderfully full-bodied, smooth and warming malt whisky.
Site Operations Manager
Donald Stirling
Opening Times
January to Easter
Monday to Friday Tour times 11.15, 12.15, 13.15.
Easter to May
Monday to Friday 09.30 to 17.00.
June to September
Monday to Saturday 09.30 to 17.00.
July and August
12.30 - 16.00. (Including Sundays)
October
Monday to Saturday, 11.00 - 16.00.
November to December
Monday to Friday Tour times 11.15, 12.15, 13.15.
(Closed between Christmas and New Year.)
Last tour One Hour before closing.
Admission
Adults: £5.00 or £3.50 for groups of 20 or more.
Iincludes a £3.50 discount voucher redeemabl on any
70cl bottle of malt whisky purchased in the Visitor Centre
Shop.
Children: £2.00 (8 yrs to 17 yrs inclusive) Children
under the age of 8 years old are welcome but are not permitted
on the distillery tour.
Contact Us
Dalwhinnie Distillery
Dalwhinnie, Inverness-shire
PH19 1AB Scotland
Telephone: +44 (0) 1540 672219
Fax: +44 (0) 1540 672228
E-mail: Dalwhinnie
Distillery
Courtesy of Dalwhinnie Distillery |
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