Monday, 7 August 2017

Newer Distilleries 2 - Ardnamurchan

This is the second in an occasional series about newer distilleries, this entry is about the Ardnamurchan Distillery.


Location

Ardnamurchan Distillery is located in Glenbeg, Ardnamurchan, Argyll in the far West of Scotland. It is Scotland's most westerly mainland distillery.


Beautiful location overlooking Loch Sunart Photo : CNN

History

The Ardnamurchan Distillery was conceived in 2007, the build started in 2013 and they opened in July 2014. They have created the first distillery in the country with self-sustaining energy requirements through wood-burning boilers and hydro systems.

Photo : Adelphi Distillery Ltd

Production Process

The distillery has its own malting floor, using barley grown on the local estate. Water comes from local springs and the Glenmore river.

They have 4 Oak wash backs (the only Scottish distillery to use them) and 3 stainless steels ones.

Photo : Adelphi Distillery Ltd

Photo : Bluestone 98 Mark Ingram Photography

Photo : Adelphi Distillery Ltd

They produces two styles of spirit, one peated and one unpeated. The spirit was first casked into American and European oak, ex-sherry casks and American oak ex-bourbon casks in 2014 and they are planning on leaving it until it is at least 7 years old before offering it for sale.

Cask #1 being filled 1st August 2014, Photo : Adelphi Distillery Ltd

All whisky will be matured on site, they have a twin floor traditional dunnage warehouse, the lower level having a soil floor.

Photo : Adelphi Distillery Ltd

Photo : Adelphi Distillery Ltd

From left to right: New Make Spirit (July 2014); Spirit, 1st fill Bourbon barrel
7 ½ months old; Spirit, 1st fill Sherry hogshead (PX) 5 months old
Photo : Adelphi Distillery Ltd

Whisky
The focus will be on single malt whisky, with no plans to sell produce to blenders. The volume of the distillery will be kept low, to ensure quality over quantity. All whiskies will probably be bottled at cask strength starting in 2021.

Website
Link to the distillery website

Video
Link to the promo video

Visit
Opening Hours and Tour Times (Easter to October)
Monday to Friday: Open 10am to 6pm; Saturday: Closed; Sunday: Open 11am to 5pm (Tours on Sunday by prior appointment)
Tours on the hour every hour – first tour 1 hour after opening, last tour 1 hour before closing - always a good idea to book in advance!

Contact
email : ardnamurchan@adelphidistillery.com
phone : +44 1972 500285 

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