Dalwhinnie Limited Edition

An official release of Dalwhinnie, at 48%, 6000 bottles in all. Dalwhinnie sits above the Drumochter pass, the highest of all Scotland's working distilleries. The distillery briefly swapped its worm tubs for modern condensers in the 1980s, then returned to the worms when the spirit changed.

It was made on soft hill water and condensed in worm tubs, for a clean, floral spirit with a waxy core. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the heather honey. Without an age statement, vanillin sweetness and a gentle apple point to good years in oak. Refill oak lets the soft heather honey character lead the way. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and honey to the fore. It runs pear shaped copper stills whose vapour is cooled in traditional worm tubs. A gentle maturation suits the soft make, the heather honey growing richer with time. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and coconut over the fruit.

At 48%, undiluted, it is deep and waxy. Honey, pear and a waxy weight, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A dried fruit and a soft oak give it depth. The finish runs long, gentle and warming. This is Dalwhinnie, the highest distillery in Scotland.