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.

An 18 year old Dalwhinnie distilled in 1966. Cadenhead was founded in 1842 by George Duncan, who was quickly joined by William Cadenhead who renamed the business after Duncan’’s death in 1858. When Cadenhead in turn passed away in 1904, his nephew Robert Duthie took over and turned the business into the independent bottler it is today. After Duthie, it was managed by one of his employees, Ann Olivier, whose stubborn approach to running the business led to much of the stock having to be sold at auction by Christie’’s (London) in 1972 to feed the kitty and save the business. It was then sold to J. & A. Mitchell and Co, who also owned Springbank, and moved to Campbeltown. The Cadenhead “dumpy” bottles were a spearhead for the business between the late 1970s and early 1990s. There were almost 400 in total, covering most of Scotland’’s distilleries. The whiskies were bottled at 46% initially, and then at cask strength from 1989, paving the way for the Authentic Collection.