Despite the turbulent times being experienced by Scotch whisky in many international markets, visits to distilleries in Scotland and consequent spending have tended to be a source of comfort. According to Scotch Whisky Association statistics, there were 2.7m visits to the country’s distilleries during 2024, and per head spend has doubled during the past decade.
In particular, high-end experiences are in vogue, and north of Inverness, on the shores of the Cromarty Firth, The Dalmore has set out a very exclusive stall to lure in visitors seeking something far beyond traditional distillery tours.
The re-opening of the Whyte & Mackay-owned distillery to the public for the first time since the Covid pandemic coincides with the completion of an ambitious project to replicate the existing production facilities in order to double theoretical output to 9mlpa.
The Dalmore is known for its complex distillation regime, featuring eight stills of various styles and capacities. Not surprisingly, ensuring that spirit from the ‘new’ distillery exactly matches that of the ‘old’ has been a daunting task for distillery manager Mark Lancaster and his team.
The new mashing and fermentation facility — containing a semi-lauter mashtun and nine wooden washbacks operating 50-hour fermentations — has been developed in a former stone-built storage building, while an eye-catching metal-clad stillhouse is a new addition to The Dalmore’s footprint. The existing production facility is currently being overhauled and readied for when its capacity might once again be required.
Internally, the stillhouse is a thing of beauty, complete with a floor to ceiling stained-glass window, and the building showcases eight stills faithfully fabricated by Forsyths Ltd of Rothes to the design of the decidedly quirky existing vessels.
The four wash stills have unusual flat tops, while the quartet of spirit stills are equipped with water coolers to aid reflux, together with somewhat contradictory horizontal shell and tube condensers.
The first spirit flowed from the new vessels in January, and when it comes to spirit matching, Mark Lancaster says that: “We’re just making the final tweaks and we’re 99 per cent there according to the tasting panel.
“We set ourselves six months to get it absolutely right and after three, we’re very happy. Initially, the spirit wasn’t as fruity as we wanted, so we changed the water jacket flow on the spirit stills, as it was running too cold. The new stills are more efficient than the old ones, so we also had to slow the run down to get the beautiful orange notes we want.
“The distillery is still mainly manual in operation, and some staff members have three years’ experience, others 35 years. We’ve automated some of the ancillary processes such as the boiler house and draff operations, but the guys on shift are still doing what they always did.”
Such is the attention to detail to ensure a perfect match between ‘old’ and ‘new’ spirit that the stillhouse roof opens and closes to match the temperature of the existing facility.
Distillery baggers eager for a 30 minutes’ tour and a couple of sample drams will not, however, be able to access and experience the new, uprated, augmented Dalmore, as the decision has been taken to offer only private, bespoke visits.
These visits cater for up to eight people at a time — all friends, family or colleagues, and no more than two tours are hosted each day. Personal preferences and tastes are catered for by way of a pre-visit concierge service, and costs are £250 per person.
The Dalmore’s passion for design, as exemplified by its collaborations with the V&A Dundee, is in evidence at all stages of the experience, in terms of colours, textures and objects. Maria Katehis, founder of MK Studios, a London-based creative production consultancy working across art, design and architecture has acted as Creative Producer for the project.
Tour participants are treated to a number of unique features, including the chance to sample water direct from the distillery’s production source of Loch Morie, and enjoy Dalmore cocktails from a menu that changes every three months. The initial range was created by Australian bar ‘Dean and Nancy on 22’ in Sydney, reflecting the fact The Dalmore was the first single malt Scotch exported to Australia 156 years ago.
In the new stillhouse, the complex distillation regime produces two distinct spirit styles, which flow into one receiver, being combined to create The Dalmore’s new make. Until now, these two spirits have never been sampled individually, but tour participants will be able assess their differences for the first time, with the small spirit stills producing a maltier, weightier spirit than their taller compatriots.
Due attention is paid to The Dalmore’s use of Gonzalez Byass sherry casks and multi-cask maturation before the tour culminates in a very exclusive guided tasting session.
This begins with an 18-year-old expression, which is hardly entry level and sets the tone for the rest of the session, which embraces whiskies in the Principal Collection and Distillery Exclusive range, including an aged travel retail-exclusive and perhaps something as rare as a 24-year-old, finished for four years in calvados casks.
Additional drams may be added for a negotiated price, as may bespoke meals, matching courses with The Dalmore if desired, and hosted in the distillery’s new dining room which boasts spectacular terrace views across the Cromarty Firth.
One might imagine that those taking part in The Dalmore experience are relatively wealthy, but The Dalmore’s global specialist Craig Swindells notes that this is not the case, saying that “People are booking it for birthday and anniversary presents, and even a stag do. You can combine it with fishing or clay pigeon shooting or other activities if you wish, and we can arrange to have you met at Inverness airport or wherever. It’s a three to four hours experience, but nobody gets thrown out. You can sit and sample whiskies afterwards if you wish.”
So, has The Dalmore made a wise decision in opting to cater only for the very high end of the ‘whisky tourism’ market? It seems so, as all slots are now filled until October of this year at the earliest, with a reserve list in operation and the chance to book ahead up to April 2027 at www.thedalmore.com.
