When Dalmunach started off, the goal was to make a Longmorn style of fruity new make, Kelsey said. One downside of the technique вЂ“ it puts a lot of pressure on the condensers, which have to be replaced every five years. Kelsey explained it was like catching steam from a kettle, only to reuse it, which is about as uncomplicated as I can make this complicated process sound. The wash stills can be charged with roughly 30,000 liters of wash, in line with some of the biggest stills in the Scotch whisky industry, like GlenkinchieвЂ™s.Д«ecause of the thermal vapour recompression technique that Dalmunach uses, the wash stills pretty much run themselves 45 percent of the time. The circular spirit safe(s) sits in the middle of the room, surrounded by eight immense copper pot stills. In any distillery, the still house is usually the most awe-inspiring place, and Dalmunach is no exception. It makes for a very fiery fermentation, Kelsey told us, putting a lot of pressure on the washbacks. Instead of starting fermentation at the usual 17 or so degrees, Dalmunach sets off this stage of production at 25 degrees. One thing theyвЂ™ve experimented with, is sort of kickstarting the fermentation, as to shorten the lag phase in fermentation, referring to the first 6 hours when the yeast still has some waking up to do. That means the temperature can be controlled, giving Kelsey and her colleagues all kinds of interesting possibilities. ThereвЂ™s 16 of them in total, each capable of holding 60,000 liters of wash, and most importantly, they are outfitted with cooling jackets. The rows of stainless steel washbacks is just as splendid to look at, even though itвЂ™ll never rival the sort of artisinal look that wooden washbacks provide. They could do one wash in as little as 3,5 hours, Kelsey explained, before adding that Glenlivet does it quicker than Dalmunach ever could, but just by 8 minutes. ThereвЂ™s a 4 hour mash cycle, and each time 13 tonnes of grist is combined with 60,000 liters of water. With a diameter of 9,5 meters, only MacallanвЂ™s new mash tun is bigger. For every day milling Dalmunach uses a modern Buhler milling machine to get through the 20 loads of 28 tonnes a week.Д®verything is big at Dalmunach, and the stainless steel Briggs mash tun is no exception. Fair is fair though, the Porteus mill is only there as a back-up, and isnвЂ™t even connected. Even in this multi-million pound of a behemoth, they have a Porteus mill. And there it was: another fucking Porteus mill. The pictures do give a good impression, but itвЂ™s not exactly the same as being inside that massively enormous still house.ДЄnyway, IвЂ™m getting ahead om myself. Even the most sceptic of whisky enthusiasts, the type that rather have their whisky made in an old rusty still by the ghost of an 80-year-old Highlander, will come away from Dalmunach impressed.

Nonetheless, it is extremely new, bright, shiny. She was quick to say that Dalmunach was modern indeed, but had already been surpassed in the Chivas portfolio by Glenlivet. Although Kelsey Bruce, assistant manager, downplayed that part a bit when she showed me and about a dozen of other whisky enthusiasts (including the incomparable Noortje) around during the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2019.

It is one hell of a sight to see, and certainly one of the most technology advanced distilleries in Scotland. There is a parallel between the two: Dalmunach sits on the exact site of the now demolished Imperial.Дalmunach only opened in 2015. Dalmunach however is still very much an unknown. Signatory Vintage have released some very nice and fruity 1995 vintages. Even though it is one of the lesser known closed distilleries, you mightвЂ™ve heard of Imperial.

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