Highland distillery Ardnamurchan has released its inaugural single malt, made with a combination of peated and unpeated whiskies.
Located at Glenbeg, Lochaber, on the Ardnamurchan Estate, Ardnamurchan Distillery was opened in July 2014.
Since opening, the site has released maturing spirit as young as one years old, with its first release selling out four times over. When its liquid officially became whisky in 2017, Ardnamurchan had said it wouldn’t be released until it was aged for a minimum of seven years.
The distillery will now release its first single malt after six years of maturing. With an ABV of 46.8%, the whisky is non-chill-filtered and bottled at natural colour.
Ardnamurchan produces two style of spirit, one peated and one unpeated. The distillery was designed to make a “full flavoured malt” that represents its west Highland location.
The single malt comprises of an even split of peated and unpeated whiskies, matured in a mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry oak casks.
The resulting liquid has notes of honeycomb, waxy peel, oyster shells, brine, strawberries, black pepper and bonfire embers.
Ardnamurchan managing director, Alex Bruce, said “When we filled the first spirit into casks, just over six years ago, the concept of being able to disgorge those casks into bottles seemed very distant.
“However, we have had an incredible journey, building our 100% local team, filling the warehouses with over 10,000 casks and preparing national and international distribution. We relied on the unique local maturation climate to do the rest, and are really excited by the quality and consistency that has been reached.”
The single malt is available to buy from whisky shops in the UK from 5 October, followed by 25 global markets. It has an RRP of £45 (US$57.80) per 700ml bottle.
The Ardnamurchan Distillery is said to be one of the first to be wholly reliant on local renewable energy, using woodchip for heat and hydro-generated electricity.
The distillery also claims to be the first to use blockchain technology, providing consumers with a scannable QR code on the bottle to show the site’s field-to-bottle journey.