{"product_id":"dalwhinnie-distillers-edition","title":"Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs would be expected, Dalwhinnie’s location plays an integral role in shaping the whisky’s profile. In the first instance there’s the water, as Dalwhinnie holds the exclusive rights to draw from Lochan an Doire Uaine, a gathering of pure snowmelt and rainwater high in the Drumochter Hills. It’s the unmistakable quality and purity of this water that’s largely credited with maintaining Dalwhinnie’s very clean malty taste.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNext there’s the new make spirit. Dalwhinnie goes out of its way to create a heavy, sulphury new make. Embracing the classic method, the distillery uses clear worts and long ferments to create a light waxy background before running the stills in a way to stop copper conversation and using traditional worm tub condensers. This is helped along beautifully by the distillery’s chilly ambient temperature which means that the worms are naturally very cold and condense rapidly, to create that trademark heavy new make. The heaviness of the sulphur is such that it takes about 15 years in refill casks for Dalwhinnie to fully emerge, but as we all know, it’s well worth the wait.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe final ingredient of course is the signature hint of heather, credited to the heather that surrounds the distillery and most likely due to the presence of wild yeast during the fermentation stage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a capacity of 1.3 million liters of pure alcohol a year it’s a relatively small distillery, operating with only two stills, both a traditional shape with a large bulbous base and a very tall, gradually narrowing neck. Dalwhinnie is also one of the last remaining Scottish distilleries using wooden worm tubs. Malt is sourced from one of parent company Diageo’s malting sites and is very lightly peated, just enough to give it a hint of smoke. The best part of course is the two racked warehouses holding over 5000 casks of ageing whisky, a true sight to behold!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOur malt this month is the 2016 Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition. Introduced in 1997, the Distillers Edition series is an annual, double-matured, limited edition release of the Classic Malts; Dalwhinnie 15yo, Cragganmore 12yo, Lagavulin 16yo, Talisker 10yo, Glenkinchie 12yo, Oban 14yo and Coal Ila 12yo. Each Classic Malt is matched to a Spanish or Portuguese fortified wine chosen to complement the characteristics of that whisky and undergoes a second maturation in specially prepared casks that previously held that wine. The result is a range of sublime, deep flavoured single malt whiskies, each very much still a Classic Malt, yet also possessing a depth, complexity and nuance of flavour not found in the regular releases.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition was distilled in 2000 and released in 2016 after undergoing an exclusive second maturation in Oloroso sherry casks, its fragrant grapey notes carefully chosen to complement the signature moorland peat and heather-honeyed notes of Dalwhinnie. You’ll find its nose is far more forward and assured than the regular 15yo and the palate is richer and sweeter. There’s a wonderful rich winey sweetness, spicy complexity and a nice drying, oaky finish. In fact, the Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition cask finish is one of the best double maturations on the market, as observed in Jim Murray’s 2017 Whisky Bible, “More like a blender’s edition: I can count the number of genuinely successful double matured malts probably on both hands. There is some serious skill and understanding of this distillery at work here.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe resulting big, spicy, heathery well-defined malt, with tons of oak and vanilla is not to be missed and with just one batch of it produced the 2016 release will be another global sell out as usual soon. We’re delighted to present it exclusively in Australia for our members’ enjoyment this May.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dalwhinnie Distillery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46489903661135,"sku":"WC0060","price":125.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0722\/1185\/7487\/files\/dalwhinnie_distillers_edition.png?v=1787700910","url":"https:\/\/thewhiskyclub.com.au\/products\/dalwhinnie-distillers-edition","provider":"The Whisky Club AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}