Your weekly insight into all things Ardnamurchan
Keep up to date with what’s happening here on site at the distillery, and what our sales team are getting up to out in the world. We’ll be bringing you the latest from the West Coast.
Keep an eye on this weekly news section for updates on new releases, upcoming tastings and events, and, of course, the ever-important current Midgie situation.
Graeme returns to Norway
Graeme had the pleasure of making a return to Norway recently. We have been visiting regularly for the last few years, slowly but steadily building an ardent following of impassioned whisky drinkers. Often, we visit during the winter months, which still offers dramatic spectacle, but what a joy to visit in the summertime to see some extended daylight, and even some blue skies!
We started off in Oslo, hosting a tasting for a whisky club in very characterful, traditional Norwegian surroundings. We conducted a deep-dive into all things Ardnamurchan, trying many offerings which are available on the Vinmonopolet, but also exploring some single casks originally sold in other countries. A huge amount of fun, and a real treat to see how well our drams were received by a discerning audience.
Friday evening started with a visit to the legendary mainstay of the Norwegian whisky scene; Dr. Jekyll's Pub, the shelves positively brimming. We happily noted staff picks on both an Ardnamuchan and an Adelphi, proof they know their stuff! Later, we headed out to the suburbs to visit our friend and former importer Bernard, now at the helm of the truly hospitable Lovinda Kafe & Bar. You will not find a warmer welcome anywhere and they boast truly the most mouth-watering homemade pastries and breads in the city. A welcoming, cosy atmosphere to host a tasting and a charming way to kick off the weekend!
Saturday beckoned, and what a memorable whisky trip we were in store for! Two hours north of Oslo and we were lucky enough to board a historic steam train for a collaborative tasting with our friend Martin (brother of Bernard!) from Feddie Ocean Distillery, one of the most exciting distilleries around. All aboard for a few hours of plentiful drams, inquisitive discussions about the current trends in the whisky industry at home and overseas, and a fine way indeed to draw the trip to a close! An afternoon which will last long in the memory, for sure.
Throughout the trip we were delighted to preview our newly announced AD/ Single Malt 46.0% in PET, which launches on the Vinmonopolet nationwide from September 2nd. A truly category-defining new whisky, a World first for us, and wonderfully good value at 399 NOK. Early feedback was stellar, we think it'll be a huge success!
Thanks to everyone for their help in Norway on the recent trip, we'll be sure to see you again at the Oslo Whisky Festival in November!
Antonia hosts an online tasting for Poland
Our sales team are not only spreading the word about Ardnamurchan face to face, but still utilising the convenience of online tastings to speak to our fans as often as they can. Something they got very accustomed to back in the days of the covid pandemic, when we released our single malt for the first time.
On Monday 24, Antonia joined Jarek and Rafal Buss of Tudor House, our Polish distributors, for a summer Ardnamurchan tasting. The lineup went: Tokaji, Paul Launois 26, Single Malt, 10 years old, peated Sauternes and Madeira. Favourites were the Madeira and Paul Launois, even though the Single Malt really stood out as a stellar dram, with all its lemony, oily saltiness. This was the last Tudor House online tasting before Whisky Live Warsaw on 25-26 September. Antonia is looking forward to seeing you there!
For those Ardnamurchan fans who make the journey along the long, winding single-track road to visit us here at the distillery, we always like to have something special waiting for them. Among our range of exclusive single casks is our Self-Fill bottling, giving visitors the chance to fill and label their own bottle by hand.
The whisky used for our Self-Fill bottlings is selected by our Visitor Centre team, all of whom have a keen nose and palate for picking out great whisky.
Our most recent Self-Fill offering was a first for the distillery. For the first time, we filled an ex-Islay quarter cask with our own peated spirit. The cask had previously been used by one of Islay's famous distilleries to mature a heavily peated whisky. We purchased the cask and filled it with our own peated spirit back in 2020, before leaving it to mature for six years.
Over that time, the quarter cask has added a new and intriguing dimension to the spirit, bringing greater depth and complexity while adding another layer of character to the peat. As one of our customers said in a thick Glaswegian accent - " Its just got a wee whiff of Islay funk".
Unsurprisingly, the whisky has gone down a storm with the people lucky enough to get their hands on a bottle. And although the cask is now coming towards the end of its life, we'll be sure to put a few bottles aside for our whisky bar. So, if you weren't able to get your hands on one, you will still have the chance to taste it on your next visit to the distillery.
