Dalwhinnie is Gaelic for "plains for meeting" and as it is halfway to Edinburgh from Glasgow it is easy to understand how the town of Dalwhinnie got its name. Being the highest town in the United Kingdom at 1,073 feet above sea level, it also has the dubious title of being the coldest. Actually, it is nestled in a natural amphitheatre that has always offered protection from the weather for cattle drovers and has served as a natural battleground for warring clansmen for centuries.
With rail transportation readily available for shipping, a distillery called Strathspey was built in Dalwhinnie in 1898. The railroad, which has access to pure water from Loch an Doire-Uaine (Lake of the Green Grove) and an inexhaustible supply of peat, made this unlikely site workable for a central highland distillery. However, soon after it was built the company fell into bankruptcy and a year later it was purchased by A.P. Blyth, who renamed the distillery Dalwhinnie. In 1905, an American bought the whisky factory and ran it until his homeland imposed prohibition in the 1920s, cutting off the huge American market and forcing its sale to Lord James Calder, returning it to the Scottish fold. The years ahead were difficult for the Dalwhinnie distillery with closures due to a fire on the malting floor and the Second World War. In 1947, the distillery reopened and has been in continuous production ever since.
Only 10 per cent of the whisky produced by Dalwhinnie is bottled under that brand and the rest is used in blends such as Black & White Blended Scotch Whisky. Today, Dalwhinnie is owned by United Distillers and Vintners (UDV) and marketed as one of their classic malt series. This marketing strategy has introduced Dalwhinnie to a wider market
Today, as with most distilleries, the malt floors are idle as malt is brought in from central maltsters. The malt used by Dalwhinnie has a light-to-medium peating, or reek. A large storage capacity for the malted barley allows the distilleries two stills to continue operation for a month or more should they get snowed in. The original worm tubs are still used to cool the spirit vapours and they say these rare, slow condensing worm tubs produce a whisky with extra character and body.
The Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old I tasted recently has been my only experience with this Scotch whisky, but one I hope to try again soon. This easy sipping golden elixir is such a pleasure to drink. The long aging in the cask has mellowed and melded the sweet aromas of honey, heather and fruit. I expected to taste some peat in the dram but I can't say I did. Instead, I found it lightly sweet with honey tones and a nice fruity flavour, of both dried and citrus fruits together with a bread-like maltiness. Even in the finish I couldn't find any of that smoky peat and instead found it a little sweet with some citrus zing. I can see this being a pleasant after-dinner drink, or perhaps a drink to savour at the end the day.
