Scotland, Northern Highlands. Distillery operational. Owner: DiageoSelected to join the famous Six Classics range launched in the late 1980s by United Distillers, Dalwhinnie remains to this day somewhat in the shadow of its illustrious colleagues Lagavulin, Talisker and Oban. Despite a handful of vintage versions, including a 1966 released in 2004, it seems to be limited to the group's classic releases, Distillers Edition and Winter's Gold. Note that very few independent bottlings of this malt exist, save for the vintage bottlings from Gordon & MacPhail and Cadenhead, all pre-1970s. Dalwhinnie is also a key component in the blends Buchanans, Black & White, Haig and Dimple.Located at 327 metres above sea level, the Dalwhinnie distillery is considered the highest in Scotland. It is also here that the lowest average annual temperature is recorded, coming to just 6°C. It produces whisky with characteristic notes of honey and a firm finish.

A Dalwhinnie 29 year old distilled in 1973 and bottled in 2003. This bottling is part of Diageo’’s Special Releases, a range released annually that highlights some of the finest whiskies of the group’’s open and closed distilleries.