Dalwhinnie

Made in the highest and coldest working distillery in Scotland, with water from a loch at 2000 feet, Dalwhinnie whisky thrives on extreme conditions – creating a liquid as sweet and accessible as its highland home is remote. 

No other distillery may use the water from Lochan na Doire-uaine – "Loch of the green thicket" – a gathering of pure snowmelt and rainwater high in the Drumochter Hills. That might be why Dalwhinnie Scotch is the only Highland whisky to offer a combination of clean and accessible, malty-sweet taste with a smooth and smoky warmth. 

When it was purpose-built in 1897, the distillery was first called Strathspey. Perhaps looking to distinguish their already distinctive whisky, the owners soon changed the name to Dalwhinnie when production started in 1898. It means “Plain of Meetings” in Gaelic, a reference to the location at a junction of old drove roads, between two mountain ranges. Though beautiful and ancient, the site is not without its drawbacks: a fire in 1934 caused a four-year closure, with rebuilding hampered by bitterly cold winters and twenty-foot snow drifts.  

Today, the distillery offers a warm welcome to all visitors who make the pilgrimage to the heart of the Scottish Highlands.

The highest of Highland malts, Dalwhinnie distillery is situated between the gentle, grassy style of the Lowlands and the heather-honey sweetness of Speyside which begins some 25 miles to the north. Make the climb and you’ll be rewarded with a warm welcome.