Dalwhinnie Scotch tour and tasting

Dad:

To break up the 4hr drive, we decided to go to a distillery which was about halfway between where we were staying near Loch Ness and St. Andrews.

I did some research and found a distillery called Dalwhinnie in the highlands area of Scotland. A unique thing about the Dalwinnie is that it is at a very high elevation above sea level and is one of the highest in Scotland, making it a very cold environment to brew whiskey. This was confirmed, as when we got there, it seemed much cooler than when we started driving that day.

When we got there, I inquired about the distillery tours that they had and found that there were only a couple of spaces left in the next tour. They had two options for the tour: you could select a tour and two tastings for £12 or you could have a tour and six tastings for £24. This whiskey tasting tour included matching chocolate truffles that were paired specifically for each type of whiskey, a unique twist at this specific distillery. I chose the latter option since I wanted to try some of the special whiskeys that are unique and not available in stores. However, since I was driving, four of the whiskeys and chocolates had to be put in separate containers to be tried later in a takeaway pack.

During the tour, I learned about the process of making whiskey, including having a plentiful source of good fresh water, malting, mashing, fermentation, and a double distillation process in copper stills that actually went outside to the cooler temperatures to cool the wash (hot steam) that is unique to Dalwhinney. Because of this outdoor cooling process, they have different effects during summer and winter months, so they have a special blend of whiskey that is called Winter’s Gold.

During the tasting, they also gave us a nice whiskey glass which was unexpected and a great memento of the visit. I had a great time and would recommend it to others. The scotch was very good as well. A bit of a different scotch, since it was not really a smoky/peaty one like an Islay or Skye scotch, but still very good. Yum!