Dunphail's The Dava Way - First Release

The Dava Way is the new independent bottling arm of @TheDunphail Distillery, the same team behind @BimberLondon Distillery!

Let's take a little walk...

The Dava Way is one of Scotland’s many long-distance walking and off-road cycling routes.

It follows the old Highland Railway line for 24 miles (38 km) between the historic towns of Forres and Grantown-on-Spey passing within a mile of the Dunphail Distillery.

Construction started on the 103 miles railway between Dunkeld and Forres in October 1861, the 36 miles from Forres to Aviemore were opened in June 1863. The whole route was opened for traffic in September 1863 having taken less than 2 year to build. 

The Dava Way Association gives more information on their website:

"The railway required the construction of eight viaducts, 126 bridges over burns and 119 road bridges. The most notable engineering feature of the line is the Divie Viaduct, having a total length of 477 feet (145 metres). It crosses the River Divie on seven arches of 45 foot (14 metres) width span each.

The object of the line’s promoters was to move the produce of the Moray Firth and its shores – sheep, cattle and fish to the south. The railway reduced the journey time for livestock from four to six weeks down to one day! Four years after opening the line traffic had increased to the point where 21,000 sheep were transported in one week. Dunphail station was the major loading point for cattle, boasting up and down lines and a goods yard. It is claimed that at the time Dunphail had the longest station platform in Britain.

The railway crosses high mountains and open moorlands. Snow and winds with the ensuing drifting was an ever present danger. The artic winter of 1880-81 was particularly memorable. On 17th December a train became snowbound south of Dava station and had to be abandoned. The passengers managed to reach Dava station before the storm increased further. The train was completely buried, and when it was located after the storm, the snow was 60 feet (18 metres) above the coaches. An up train, carrying passengers and cattle was also caught on the other side of the station. Whilst the passengers escaped, the cattle refused to leave the shelter of the trucks, and perished by suffocation. A relief train sent to help also became stuck. 

Until the Inverness to Perth line over Slochd Summit opened in 1898, the main line to London was via Forres and Grantown over Dava Moor. The line became less significant after 1898, but goods and passenger trains ran through both world wars though traffic decreased after the 1950s. Sadly, the line did not survive the Beeching axe and the last trains ran in 1965. Over the next few years, the rails were lifted, land returned to the original owners and the trackbed became steadily overgrown."

The Dava Way Association (DWA) was formed to build, manage and maintain the Dava Way and is staffed entirely by volunteers.

"The Dava Way is an unusually varied railway walk, winding its way from sea level on the Moray Firth through forests, then over the Dava Moor to the Dava summit at 1050 feet (320 metres) before descending into Strathspey. Passing through a wonderful mix of farmland, woodland and moorland, the Dava Way provides an important link between the Speyside Way in the south, from Grantown, and the Moray Firth Trail to the north, from Forres. This beautiful part of northeast Scotland has a huge amount to offer the visitor and is still relatively undiscovered by walkers and outdoor enthusiasts. On a clear day, walkers on the Dava moor will enjoy views over the Moray Firth as far north as Sutherland, while the skyline to the south is dominated by the Cromdale Hills and the Cairngorm Mountains."

Less than a mile from the trail the Dunphail Distillery is coming along nicely with production due to start in Q4 2022.

They've just launched an independent bottling label based on the trail:

"The Dava Way uncovers, curates and bottles spirits that exemplify and celebrate flavour, balance and uniqueness. Named after the Great Scottish Trail that follows the path of the former Highland Railway passing close to Dunphail Distillery, The Dava Way explores the individuality of whisky – one cask at a time.

Our casks are selected to typify distillery characters, showcase individual production techniques and demonstrate a broad spectrum of maturation styles. Our releases are delivered free from any artifice, colouring or chill filtration - as nature intended."

Their first release is a set of 4

Let's see what they are like:

Dram	Benrinnes 12yo	Glen Elgin 13yo	Dailuaine 13yo	Orkney 17yo
Characteristics	54% ABV NCF Natural colour 2009 12yo Single Cask #306152 Hogshead	51.8% ABV NCF Natural colour 2008 12yo Single Cask #808441 Recharred Hogshead	50% ABV NCF Natural colour 2009 13yo Single Cask #1931914 Cognac butt	61.3% ABV NCF Natural colour 2005 17yo Single Cask #17 Hogshead
Distillery notes	NOSE: Pear poached in mead sits with lemon and quince jellies. Butter caramel follows, livened by darkly roasted malts and pumice stone. PALATE: Orchard fruit syrup and pineapple juice lead into soft waxiness. The development reveals mandarins, chocolate, pink peppercorns and a tingle of salinity. FINISH: Sustained green and yellow fruits, orange peel and vanilla sweetness.	NOSE: Peach syrup and orange zest join fluffy meringue whilst menthol sits with sage leaves, crumbled biscuits and gentle cinnamon. PALATE: Opening with spiced toffee and bright orchard fruits before developing toward apricot sponge cake, toasted oak and cask char. FINISH: Warming oak, slapped mint leaves and lingering fruit sugars.	NOSE: Blackberry bread and butter pudding, split vanilla pods and sunflower oil sit alongside ginger snap biscuits and toasted almonds. PALATE: Golden syrup is drizzled over apples and grapes, whilst brandy butter is livened by cask spices – ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. FINISH: Darker and deeper maltiness with lingering spice.	NOSE: Immediately coastal with hewn rocks, sea breeze and prominent heathery peat smoke. Vegetal notes of leaf mulch, clay and putty follow, supported by sweeter aromas of honey and cooking apples. PALATE: An oily mouthfeel delivers a fulsome island smoke consisting of bonfire ash, sack cloth, preserved lemon, hillside flowers and limestone cliffs. FINISH: Lingering heather-imbued smoke, herbal teas and coastal minerality.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line in the glass, take an age to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.	Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a hair line crack in the glass, take an age to bead up and fall as slow thin oily legs.	Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a hair line crack in the glass, take an age to bead up and eventually fall as slow thin legs.	Mid gold in the glass, swirls leave thick lines which bead up slowly and fall as slow thick oily legs.
Nose	Stewed orchard fruit: apples, pears, apricot; honey, vanilla and a little citrus zest. There's a little toffee, some dry icing sugar and a hint of spice to come.	Starts with an interesting funky note: dunnage, herbs or liquorice maybe? A hint of smoke or cask char, followed by tropical fruit in syrup and a sweet citrus note.	Spotted dick and custard to start, some berries, poached pears and a hint of marzipan. There's some caramel sauce, honey and a hint of peppery spice.	A little closed this one, give it time and you'll be rewarded with gentle heathery smoke, a little salinity and notes of tropical fruit: dried pineapple, mango and banana chunks from a tropical mix.
Palate	Thick sweet arrival, pineapple cubes and lemon zest coat the tongue. There's some chocolate orange, honey and a gentle salinity before the lemon zest takes over again. Dry icing sugar and a little peppery spice left on the tongue as the liquid disappears. A few more sips reveal a more complex spice mixture: pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. Yummy!	Another thick sweet arrival, more tropical fruit in syrup notes: pineapple, mango peaches; with lemon peel and honey. There's a bonfire toffee note, ginger spice and some drying icing sugar. A few more sips develop the fruit into orchard notes: apples and pears; with more citrus and spice.	Thick and sweet, honey and brown sugar covered cored apples with a pile of dried fruit in the middle (this one seems to be all about puddings!) There's a little salted caramel, fudge and Toblerone chunks alongside a bite of gingery spice. A few more sips offer dry icing sugar on the tongue and cinnamon spice as the liquid disappears.	Thick sweet arrival, the oily mouthcoating liquid giving tropical fruit, citrus and maritime sea breeze. A little sour citrus, heathery, salty smoke. A few more sips repeat the tropical mix from the nose: dried pineapple chunks covered in icing sugar to the fore. There's lemon zest and sour grapefruit balancing the sweetness; grass clippings, a little milk chocolate and a little vanilla round it off.
Finish	Long sweet honey notes with a little icing sugar dryness and peppery spice.	Lingering ginger spice, sweet honey and citrus.	Medium length orchard fruit, spice and a hint of salted lemons.	Lingering dry smoke, a little salinity, citrus and tropical fruit.
Overall	For a 'plain' ex-bourbon the Benrinnes ticks all the boxes: tropical fruit, honey, vanilla and spice. It's ABV is just at that sweet spot where all 4 are in balance. Lip tinglingly good! The recharred cask has added a faint smoke note to the Glen Elgin, alongside it's typical tropical fruit and spice notes gives a lovely dram, slightly lower ABV than the Benrinnes but with a load more spice on the palate and finish. Yummy! The Cognac cask used to mature the Dailuine gives a huge spiced apple note to this gentle spirit - it's normally fruity, sweet and gently spiced. Nice. A single bourbon cask Orkney, without the slight sherry influence you usually get from this distillery, is a thing of beauty and this bottling doesn't disappoint - yummy! A great first set of bottles from The Dava Way and Dunphail, for me the Orkney and Benrinnes standout as excellent - some are still available from their website - have a look!

Many thanks to the Bimber / Dunphail team for the samples - I bought a bottle of the Orkney as soon as it came out and now need a Benrinnes!