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 redeemable on any
70cl bottle of malt whisky purchased in the Visitor Centre
Shop.
Children: £2.50 (8 yrs to 17 yrs inclusive) Children
under the age of 8 years old are welcome but are not permitted
on the distillery tour.
Getting
There
From Pitlochry - Take the A9 heading north from Pitlochry,
turn off at the first sign for Dalwhinnie.
From Inverness - Traveling from Inverness, leave the
A9 six miles before the distillery at the sign for Dalwhinnie.
From the West - Take the A86 from Spean Bridge and
the A889 from Laggan.
Parking
/ Reception - The parking is through the main entrance
on the left in front of the distillery. Reception is in the
splendid building to the left of the car park. It combines
the shop and the tour launching point.
Contact Us
Dalwhinnie Distillery
Dalwhinnie, Inverness-shire
PH19 1AB Scotland
Telephone: +44 (0) 1540 672219
Fax: +44 (0) 1540 672228
E-mail: Dalwhinnie
Distillery
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