Dalwhinnie Distillery

Originally built under the name Strathspey in 1897, the distillery was founded by a trio of men. John Grant, George Seller and Alexander Mackenzie built it in a remote location by the Grampian and Monadhliath mountain ranges. Water for the distillery’s whisky comes from the Alt Ant Sluic Burn flowing down from the Lochan an Doire-Uaine in the Drumochter Hills. In the mid 2000s it was the highest distillery in Scotland in operation. That was until the reopened Braeval knocked it off its perch, so to speak.

The original owners only lasted a year before they had to sell to John Sommerville & Co. and A P Blythe & Sons. These were the owners who changed the name to Dalwhinnie in 1898. It would change hands several more times before being purchased by Distillers Company Limited in 1926.

Dalwhinnie had to close in 1934 after being severely damaged by fire and wouldn’t reopen for another four years. Rebuilding efforts were hampered by its remote location in what is now Cairngorms National Park. The heavy winter snows were a particular issue. The distillery closed again for three years in 1992. This was not due to any disaster but to allow for a £3.2 million refurbishment to take place.

The equipment at Dalwhinnie consists of 7.3 ton mash tun and six wooden washbacks. Only a single pair of spirit and wash stills are in operation, a brand new set installed in 2018. Spirits are cooled and condensed using copper worm tubes submerged in worm tubs. The distillery has an overall production capacity of 2.2 million litres of spirits.

The core range at Dalwhinnie consists of the Distillers Edition, 15 year old single malt, and the Winter’s Gold released in 2015. The Distillers Edition is double matured, with an Oloroso Sherry finish and no age statement. The 15 year old is smooth and sweet. The nose is full of natural aromas, followed by fruit and honey on the palate and a slightly peaty finish. Unusually for a whisky the honeyed Winter’s Gold is meant to be served after chilling in the freezer for at least 24 hours. A 30 year old bottling came out in 2019 as part of the Special Releases range from Diageo.