Ardnamurchan Distillery

Established in 2014 by the independent bottler Adelphi, Ardnamurchan was the first legal distillery on the ruggedly beautiful Highland peninsula with which it shares its name, near the most westerly point of the British mainland. A forward-thinking distillery to the core, all power and heat come from local renewables, including hydro, solar, and biomass reactors. They have furthered their goals through other initiatives, such as lighter bottles, reduced packaging, and co-product recycling, helping them win multiple sustainability and best new distillery awards.

They produce peated (30PPM) and unpeated spirit from a high clarity wort, achieved through a 20-minute recirculation. Both are made use concerto barley grown on one of the owners’ estates, to give their blender team greater flexibility when crafting their single malt whisky, and water from the Glenmore Spring above the distillery.

Mashing, fermenting, and distilling are all done onsite, with a custom-sized semi-lauter mash tun, four oak and three stainless steel washbacks, and two traditional copper stills (10,000L wash and 6,000L spirit). The spirit still has a boil ball neck for extra reflux and unusually, the shell and tube condensers are located outside the building. Maturation is also done onsite using primarily American oak ex-bourbon and European oak ex-sherry casks, along with other casks for special releases, including mezcal, sauternes, white wine, and madeira, in traditional dunnage warehouses.