Ardmore Distillery, Highland

Ardmore has a longstanding belief in traditional distilling methods and insists that the aromatic smoke from natural Highland peat fires is used to dry their malted barley. Sadly, today, the high cost of this procedure has meant that it is now the only Highland distillery to routinely ‘peat’ its standard malt. In 2021, they initiated a project to restore 1,300 hectares of peatland near the distillery to safeguard the local supply.

Ardmore is double matured, first in the more usual oak barrels and then in much smaller ‘Quarter Casks’, delivering a unique smoothness to our whisky. These were commonly used in the 19th century but are too costly for most distillers today. In recent times, Ardmore has released exceptionally long-aged expressions, which show a beautiful balance between sweet flavours and savoury peat smoke.

(Adapted from the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2024)