This 30-year-old Dalwhinnie was part of Diageo's 2020 Special Releases, the series themed 'Rare by Nature'. It is a single-vintage, cask-strength bottling from one of Scotland's highest distilleries, and a rare chance to taste the house style after three decades in wood.
About This Whisky
All of the whisky was filled in 1989 into refill American oak hogsheads. Refill wood gives up less colour and flavour than fresh casks, so the long maturation has polished the spirit rather than smothered it. It was bottled at a natural 51.9% ABV and the release ran to 6,978 bottles worldwide.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Sweet and fragrant, with moorland herbs, butterscotch, boiled sweets, peaches and a pencil-shaving note of new wood.
- Palate: Creamy and rich, with honey and orchard fruit, then a peppery warmth that builds steadily.
- Finish: Warming and long, with spice, oak and a last trace of honey.
Serving & Food
Taste it neat first in a nosing glass at room temperature, then add water drop by drop; at 51.9% it rewards patience. Keep food simple: shortbread, a few toasted almonds or a slice of pear with mild blue cheese.
How to Enjoy
Serious Scotch drinkers and Special Releases followers who want an old, clean Highland malt at full strength.
Product Details
Distillery: Dalwhinnie
Series: Special Release 2020
Age: 30 years old
Distilled: 1989
Cask: Refill American oak hogsheads
Outturn: 6,978 bottles
Country: Scotland
Region: Highland
ABV: 51.9% ABV
Format: 700mL
About the Distillery
The village of Dalwhinnie sits high on the Drumochter Pass, where the old drovers' roads met, and its distillery is one of the coldest and highest in Scotland. It opened in 1897 under the name Strathspey, changed hands and name within a year, and joined the Distillers Company in 1926, the forerunner of today's owner Diageo. Most of what it makes goes into blends, so older single malt from the site turns up only occasionally, usually through the Special Releases.