New independent

Construction work has been underway for some time now to launch a Scottish distillery run by a team from London-based Moonshine Distillery. Dunphail, as the new distillery will be called, is located on an old farm in Speyside, near the town of Forres, and takes its name from it.

As is well known, one of the biggest challenges facing any new whisky distillery is financing the first three years of operation. During this time, the owner of the plant bears the full cost of its operations, but cannot sell even a single bottle of his whiskey, since by law it must rest in storage for at least this length of time. New Scottish distilleries are tackling the problem in several ways. One of them is the production of some other alcohol that does not require maturation. This is often gin, and the practice has led to a real renaissance of this type of alcohol in recent years. Suffice it to mention, for example, the incomparable gin from the Isle of Harris distillery, the sensational products of the Glasgow distillery, or the gin from Barra Island in the Hebrides Outer Islands. There are distilleries that, regardless of the alcohol they produce, have also set their sights on tourist activities, such as Lindores Abbey, Kingsbarns and Clydeside. Others operate as independent distributors of whiskies made at other distilleries, establishments enjoying unmatched seniority in the industry. It's not uncommon for these new distilleries not only to select and bottle single malt whiskies, but also to blend their blends and blended malts. Examples include Dornoch and the Thompson brothers' selection, Raasay and their While We Wait or the Prometheus editions branded by the Glasgow distillery.

The latter strategy has also been adopted by the Dunphail distillery, which has just announced the debut of the series The Dava Way, whiskies to come from interesting, carefully selected casks, betting on both taste and uniqueness, and offered to consumers at favorable prices. These whiskies are to go into bottles in their most natural form - no dilution, no cold filtration and no caramel coloring.

Whiskies in the series are to be released monthly, and the first batch will be on offer as early as next month. It will include the following whiskeys:

Dailuaine 2009 13yo (50% vol.), whisky matured in a single cognac butt cask. Limited edition to 510 bottles, retail price is £59.95;

Benrinnes 2009 12yo (54% vol.), a whisky sourced from a single hogshead cask. Limited edition to 305 bottles, retail price is £69.95;

Glen Elgin 2008 13yo (51.8% vol.), a whisky sourced from a single extra-fired hogshead cask. Limited edition to 305 bottles, retail price is £69.95;

An Orkney Distillery 2005 17yo (61.3% vol.), whisky from a single hogshead cask. Edition limited to 300 bottles, retail price £89.95.

An interesting feature of the form in which the aforementioned whiskeys are offered is the inclusion on the label of a graphic depicting the distillery from which the contents of the bottle come. If this practice is maintained, consumers will no longer have to wonder where the whiskey comes from that the producer has banned from bearing the distillery's name. Just look at the graphic. So it is known that coming from an undisclosed formal distillery in Orkney is Highland Park.

Whiskies from The Dava Way series will initially be available only in the distillery's store and through its online store, but it cannot be ruled out that sooner or later they will appear in wider distribution. If they prove to be worthwhile, they will certainly reach the House of Whisky Online in time as well. All you have to do is check in with us regularly and keep track of what's new with us.


[23.09.2022 / photo: Dunphail Distillery]