🥃 Dalwhinnie

Dalwhinnie is a distillery and single malt Scotch whisky brand in the village of Dalwhinnie in the Highlands. Construction began in 1897, and Whiskypedia writes that Braeval shares with it the title of one of the highest-sited distilleries in Scotland. Today it belongs to Diageo, and the brand became well known through the release of Dalwhinnie 15.

History. The distillery was begun as Strathspey: the founders are named as Alexander Mackenzie, John Grant and George Sellar. Production started in 1898, and after it was sold the new owners renamed it Dalwhinnie. In 1905 it was bought by the Americans Cook & Bernheimer, the first owners from outside Britain of a Scotch distillery; in 1926 it passed to Distillers Company Limited, and in 1997 to Diageo.

How it is made. There are two simple-shaped stills: a wash still of 16,900 litres and a spirit still of 16,500 litres. The condensers are wooden worm tubs, which give a heavier spirit; in 1986 they were replaced with tubular ones and in 1995 brought back. The malt is lightly peated, the water comes from Alt Ant Sluic Burn, and fermentation lasts at least 60 hours.

Range. In 1988 Dalwhinnie 15 was chosen as the Highland representative of Diageo's Classic Malts series; other releases exist, but they are rarer and not part of the permanent range.

Why this matters to you. The whisky is described as soft and slightly smoky, but it has little peat compared with Islay. The age on the label is the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.