Featured Scotch
Dalwhinnie
15yr-old, 43% alc.
The highest distillery in Scotland, at 326m, Dalwhinnie lies in a glen, with the Monadhlaith Mountains to one side, and the Forest of Atholl, the Cairngorms and the Grampians to the other.
Its name is Gaelic for “meeting place”. The village of the same name stands at the junction of old cattle-droving routes from the west and north down to the central Lowlands. Much whisky smuggling went on along this route.
The distillery was called Strathspey when it opened in 1897.
Region: Highlands
District: Speyside
House style: Lightly peaty. Aperitif.
Colour: Gold.
Nose: Very aromatic, dry, faintly phenolic, lightly peaty.
Body: Firm, slightly oily.
Palate: Remarkably smooth, long-lasting flavour development. Aromatic, heather-honey notes give way to cut-grass, malty sweetness, which intensifies to a sudden burst of peat.
Finish: Very long.
Score: 76
Source: Michael Jackson’s Whisky Companion