DalwhinnieWinter’sGold(700mL)

<p><em>Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold is a Scottish mountain high … served ice-cold, it is a light, unctuous, fruit-forward dram from the highest of the Highlands.</em></p><p><em>Dalwhinnie, Scotland </em>has a population of 80. That’s not a typo. It is home to a small schoolhouse, a pub, an inn, a train station, and the <em>Dalwhinnie Distillery. </em>What else do you need, really? The distillery, founded in 1897 by John Grant, is famous for being the <em>“highest” distillery </em>in <em>Scotland. </em>When you are talking about spirits, <em>“highest” </em>can mean several things right? In this case, we are talking about altitude, sitting at nearly <em>1100 feet </em>above sea level. </p><p>Importantly, only <em>10%</em> of production ends up in their single-malt nameplate, and they are a small shop to boot with only one wash and one spirit still each. The rest goes into the famous <em>blended Scotch</em> <em>“Black & White.” </em>So grab what you can get your hands on. </p><p><em>Dalwhinnie </em>is famous for its light, almost gentle Whiskies, and <em>Winter’s Gold </em>is no exception. So what’s with the name? Well, their location as the highest distillery in Scotland makes for cooler weather. They noticed that the Whiskies distilled in the coldest winter months—<em>December, January, and February</em>—had a slightly darker, more golden hue and a fruitier taste than the ones produced at other times of the year. </p><p>They wisely decided to encapsulate the winter production runs into a special edition. Make no mistake, this is every bit a <em>Dalwhinnie, </em>but where the core offerings are more heather-forward in flavor, in <em>Winter’s Gold </em>the heather is still there, but apricot and toffee step up. The folks at <em>Dalwhinnie </em>suggest that you serve this dram straight from the freezer—<em>ice cold without dilution</em>—and then enjoy the changes as the Whisky slowly warms in the glass. </p>