Ardnamurchan: the best new wave Scotch whisky distillery?

Ardnamurchan Distillery is a new name in Scotch whisky, but one that already commands a certain respect. 

Set in the remote wilds of the Ardnamurchan peninsula – all untouched beauty and salty sea air – it arrived on the scene in 2014 and has kept its head down, done the work, and let the whisky do the talking.

Adelphi and Ardnamurchan

The brand is the brainchild of Adelphi, the independent bottler already trusted by the geekier corners of whisky. It built its name picking out exceptional casks and bottling single malts at cask strength. It’s that same no-nonsense, quality-first ethos that Adelphi has brought to its distillery in Glenbeg.

I rate it among the best of the newcomers of the last decade or so, not just in Scotland, but beyond. I know I’m not alone. But we’ve hardly covered Ardnamurchan (pronounced Ard-na-murkan) on this blog, so I’m rectifying that now. 

Here’s what you need to know, starting with the production process. 

How Ardnamurchan makes whisky

Mashing

Most of Ardnamurchan’s barley grows in West Fife, near the brand’s head office, with the rest supplied within Scotland. Bairds Maltings handles the malting. 

The distillery makes two types of spirit – peated and unpeated – to give its blending team flexibility across the range. The peated malt sits at around 30PPM, bringing a soft, coastal smokiness. Heavier stuff up 80PPM has been laid down too.

The two-tonne mashtun had to be custom-built to squeeze across the peninsula’s narrowest bridge, so it’s 3.2 metres wide and not a centimetre to spare. The hot water is heated by a biomass boiler powered by a sustainable local woodchip.

Once the wort’s drawn off, it goes to ferment. The leftover draff and pot ale are turned into livestock feed for local farms. No waste here.

Fermentation

Ask a distillery with wooden washbacks what’s best, and they’ll swear by wood. Ask one with stainless steel, and you’ll hear the opposite. Ardnamurchan went with both. 

There’s four wooden washbacks (three Oregon pine, one oak), and three stainless steel, each with a capacity of 15,000 litres. It’s a balanced setup that allows for a bit of variety and nuance in the fermentation stage. Fermentation times range but the average appears to be around 76 hours. 

Distillation

Distillation happens in traditional copper stills – a 10,000-litre wash still and a 6,000-litre spirit still with a boil ball for extra reflux. Shell-and-tube condensers (located outside, unusually) turn the vapour into high-strength new make.

The spirit is collected at around 75% ABV, then reduced with spring water from Glenmore down to 63.5% before casking.

Maturation

Most of the whisky matures in a classic mix of American oak bourbon and European oak sherry casks. But this is also a distillery that likes to have a bit of fun – casks that once held Sauternes, mezcal, white wine, or Madeira have all made appearances.

Unlike many new distilleries, Ardnamurchan matures its whisky on-site, in traditional dunnage warehouses a stone’s throw from where the spirit was made. 

The proximity to the Atlantic Ocean – the name Ardnamurchan translates as “Headland of the Great Seas” – lends a subtle but genuine maritime influence. No tricks or marketing guff, just salt, air, time, and patience. Wait, that’s a Foo Fighters album, isn’t it?

What is the Ardnamurchan distillery character?

Across the last decade, the profile of the Ardnamurchan distillery character has evolved but we have a pretty good idea of what to expect now at the core of each of its whiskies. 

It’s safe to say it has delivered on the promise, developing from raw potential (like a baby Brora) to a robust single malt with a coastal, citrusy, slightly funky, and delicately sweet character. 

When peated, the smokiness is sweet and rich, like campfire smoke, while the sweet note is a lip-smacking but not saccharine toffee/vanilla. The citrusy quality is reminiscent of Caol Ila, think of that lemon-peels-at-the-harbour vibe. There’s a touch, just a hint, of Springbank in the farmyard funk note that’s underneath and when aged in wine casks it has a Bowmore-esque quality to marry sherry and smoke. Raasay is also very good at that, another fine newcomer. 

No master blender, no problem

Ardnamurchan doesn’t do the Lone Genius Master Blender thing. Instead, a six-person blending team makes every decision together – from core bottlings to rare cask selections. 

Now and then, a cask turns up that’s just too distinctive to blend away. When that happens, it gets marked for solo duty – bottled as a single cask, usually at cask strength, nodding back to Adelphi’s roots in cask-strength indie bottling.

Whisky with a conscience

Ardnamurchan doesn’t just make excellent whisky – it makes it responsibly. From the start, the distillery was designed with a light-touch philosophy: using local resources wisely, reusing waste where possible, and investing in renewable energy. Here’s a quick rundown:

Biomass boiler: Powered by woodchip from local, sustainably managed forests, it heats the stills and nearby buildings.

Solar panels: 138 panels, installed in 2023, generate up to 50kW of power for the site and the local grid.

Watermiser tech: Cuts water use from 400m³ to 20m³ per day.

Circular economy: Draff and pot ale are turned into animal feed pellets, supporting local farms and jobs.

Crush Barley labels: Made using waste barley husks from the brewing and distilling process.

EV fleet: The sales and marketing team are all driving electric – no diesel heroes here.

Packaging: Lightweight bottles, no gift boxes, and a QR code for all your cask-level geekery.

It’s no surprise then that the distillery was named Global Sustainable Distillery of the Year at the 2024 Icons of Whisky awards.

There’s also the brilliant Ardnamurchan Trust: every child in the area receives a cask of new make when they turn ten. When they hit 18, the distillery buys it back, and the profits go into a fund to help them with education, training, or whatever else might bring them – and their skills – back home to the peninsula.

Ardnamurchan Whiskies

The core expression AD/ sits alongside a range of limited releases and single cask bottlings. The latter you’ll spot by their opaque slate blue bottles – a subtle nod to the volcanic rock that surrounds the distillery on the peninsula. These bottlings don’t just go to anyone, either. They’re offered to regions, retailers, and whisky clubs that support the core range and fly the flag properly.

All Ardnamurchan whiskies are un-chill filtered and of natural colour. The aforementioned QR Codes on the bottles take you to a page on the brand’s website with an impressive amount of information, from bottle number, to who bottled it, the average hours of fermentation, the full list of casks used… Transparency to the max. 

As of 2020, the distillery had filled over 10,000 casks. Ardnamurchan distillery turned ten in the summer of 2024 and to celebrate this milestone it launched a batch of Ardnamurchan 10 Years Old whisky.

Want to try Ardnamurchan whisky?

But to showcase what this brand is all about, we’re going to spotlight a couple of its releases for this year. One Madeira cask bottling, and the other new arrival, an intriguing mezcal cask release.

Both reflect what I love about this distillery. First, they’re delicious. Simply put, but it’s the most important thing. Beyond that, each release is reasonably priced and the stock isn’t too limited. That means actual whisky fans far and wide have been able to forge a relationship with this distillery and its whisky. 

Ardnamurchan’s popularity means that some do see it as a collectable, in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if in years to come early, limited bottles fetch big prices. But there’s only so much the distillery can do about that. Because Ardnamurchan is not just good for a young whisky – it’s just good, full stop. 

Ardnamurchan Madeira Cask Release 2025 Whisky

This single malt from Ardnamurchan combines 43% peated spirit with 57% unpeated, initially matured in bourbon barrels before it was re-racked into Madeira casks. Bottled without added colour or chill filtration, it’s brimming with notes of chocolate and spice coupled with herbaceous, piney peat beneath.

Nose: Cocoa, candied almonds, custard, and sweet spices, with layers of stewed stone fruits and fruit buns, then woody spices join in time.

Palate: Notes of cedar and cinnamon, salted peanuts, chocolate Brazil nuts, raisins, and toffee apples. Piney peat brings a touch of peppery warmth.

Finish: Earthy, woody spice and smoke linger, with dried berries and dark chocolate chips in tow.

Ardnamurchan Mezcal Cask Release 2025 Whisky

This limited edition release brings together peated Highland whisky (30ppm, if you’re counting) with the wild, vegetal soul of Mezcal casks. Distilled in 2017 and finished for 20 months in those smoky-savoury casks, it’s bottled at a punchy 55% ABV. 

Nose: Hearth smoke, lime zest, and a touch of sea spray.

Palate: Earthy peat, roasted agave, salted caramel, and damp herbs.

Finish: Long and briny, with a softly smouldering edge.

You can buy Ardnamurchan whiskies and view prices by clicking the links on the product names. See more Ardnamurchan single malts here!

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