Dalwhinnie Distillery

📌 Dalwhinnie, Highland
★★★

At just over 350 metres above sea level, Dalwhinnie Distillery is the highest distillery in Scotland open to the public. Whisky has been produced here since 1898, and the buildings passed through several hands over the decades before ending up under the ownership of giants Diageo today. With the long history, romantic location and captive audience in the form of the nearby A9 main road, it’s therefore a little disappointing that we weren’t especially impressed by the tour. Unusually stringent health and safety regulations meant we couldn’t get up close and personal to some of the key elements of the production process, and some of the “facts” delivered by our tour guide were, we think, exaggerated. Photos in the production area? Out of the question. On the plus side, tastings (following our tour) were good, and drams were paired with handmade chocolates – a welcome addition.