Dalwhinnie The Distillers Edition 18 Years Old 1991

Dalwhinnie from the distillery, an 18 year old, from 1991, cask D. SQ. 312, at 43%. Dalwhinnie sits above the Drumochter pass, the highest of all Scotland's working distilleries. The site lies in the high Drumochter pass, often cut off by snow in deep winter.

The spirit was distilled slowly for a clean, fragrant spirit, for a soft, honeyed make with a waxy depth. A sherry cask wrapped the soft spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Into oxidative maturity, slow air ingress builds fruity ethyl esters (apple and pear) and a honeyed depth over the worm tub wax. Years in oak round the spirit, the apple and honey deepening over the waxy core. It was one of the six original Classic Malts of Scotland, chosen to represent the Highlands. Cook and Bernheimer, then America's largest distillers, bought it at auction in 1905.

At 43% it is gentle, sweet and honeyed. Soft heather honey, apple and a gentle malt, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is soft and waxy, the fruit carried on a honeyed body. The finish is long, soft and gently warming. This is Scotland's highest distillery in single malt form.