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 tours The Netherlands
Last week, Graeme was delighted to hit the road in the Netherlands for three nights of sold out events around the country.
First up, we held an Ardnamurchan and Adelphi tasting in the garden at Slijterij Frans Muthert & Dramtime in Musselkanaal, a family-owned shop which has been around for over 100 years! We tried our best not to be anticlimactic after witnessing the solar eclipse mere minutes before kicking off the tasting! Tom-Roderick Muthert manned the barbecue, Graeme did a deep dive into many a dram, and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.
On day two we hit the road from the Groningen area, heading south. A pit-stop was required at Versailles in Nijmegan, a whisky shop replete with many an Ardnamurchan, and boasting a cellar dating from the 1600s. Then it was onwards to Eindhoven, where we hosted a whisky dinner in association with Van Der Heijden Wines & Spirits.
Day three included a quick visit to central Amsterdam and the cosy Wijnhandel De Ware Jacob which was stuffed with Ardnamurchan bottlings. Then, our final destination was Alkmaar and a quick hello to our friends at De Whisky Specialist, who have one of the largest selections of Adelphi anywhere in the country.
The final event was an honour and a privilege for us to be involved with, co-hosting a whisky dinner at the legendary Hielander Restaurant. Helmed by Wullie and Gerie for 37 years, the restaurant has a cult following locally and a nationwide reputation for warm hospitality, classy Scottish food, and an unbelievable selection of whisky. It was a pleasure to finally host a dinner there after many years of trying to work out the correct date. Thanks to Wullie and Gerie for having us!
All in all, a well worthwhile trip to one of our oldest markets, a country which has incredible passion for whisky and an ever-growing appreciation for all things Ardnamurchan. Thanks to Gerben, Marcel, and Jan at Whisky Import Nederland for organising the trip!
The End of the Local Highland Games and Shows
As we head towards the end of summer here on the peninsula, we also come to the end of the local shows and Highland Games season. These events are a real highlight of the calendar for many locals, including plenty of the team here at the distillery. They’re a great opportunity to get out and about, catch up with friends and neighbours, and bring communities from across the peninsula together.
The distillery attends a number of local shows throughout the summer, offering a range of merchandise alongside a selection of Ardnamurchan whisky. This year, we created a special bottling exclusively for the local shows: a wonderful vatting of an unpeated 2017 American Bourbon barrel and a peated 2018 Sauternes cask.
The bottling went down extremely well, and it was great to see so many familiar faces enjoying a dram. We also wanted to make sure that something went back into the local community, so £10 from every bottle sold was donated to the local games. In total, we raised £430 to help support the organisation of future games and shows.
A great way to round off another brilliant summer on the peninsula.
One of the clear highlights of the summer was the tug of war at Kilchoan Sports Day, where teams of visitors went head-to-head with the locals in an event that is, to put it mildly, fiercely competitive.
The competition is split into a number of different categories, starting with the children. We’re delighted to report that both the boys’ and girls’ teams managed to see off the visitors and claim victory for the locals. Then came the ladies’ competition, with our very own Shelley and Chloe joining around 30 other local lassies on the rope. Safe to say, the visitors didn’t stand much of a chance!
And finally, it was the men’s turn. There was a strong showing from the distillery team, with Roddy, Ally and Michael all taking their places on the rope. Even Calum handed his camera over to Ricky so he could get involved in the action. Unfortunately, this time the visiting men brought the muscle. In a best-of-three contest, the visitors took the win 2–1, leaving the locals to lick their wounds. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort, and thankfully the team had a couple of days to recover before heading back to work. Safe to say, though, they haven’t quite lived it down yet!
It’s always great to see these events so well supported and to be able to play a small part in them. The Highland Games are a big part of summer life here on the peninsula, and we’re already looking forward to doing it all again next year.
TWO ARDNAMURCHAN SINGLE CASKS LAND IN TOP EDINBURGH BARS
There have been two exciting new Ardnamurchan single casks making their way into some of Edinburgh’s best bars.
First up is an exceptional single cask bottled exclusively for the Scotch Bar at The Balmoral Hotel. This marks their first-ever peated single cask, selected by the talented team behind the bar themselves. And they found something rather special: an Ardnamurchan matured entirely in a first-fill Oloroso octave and bottled at natural cask strength.
The cask yielded just 78 bottles, all of which are available exclusively by the bottle or dram at the Scotch Bar in Edinburgh. Ross Barr and the team are very excited to share their latest Ardnamurchan, describing it as balanced and intense, with the peat and sherry working together in harmony. It certainly sounds like one worth seeking out.
Our other exciting collaboration is one we’ve been working on for a little while with our friends at Nauticus Bar in Leith. The team made the trip up to the distillery some time ago, on the hunt for a whisky to mark their eighth birthday, and they were keen to find something a little different.
That’s exactly what they found.
After searching through the warehouses, the team settled on a really interesting unpeated Port cask from 2019. Now six years old, this Ardnamurchan was bottled at 58.7% ABV and yielded just 151 bottles.
To celebrate their birthday and launch the new single cask, the team at Nauticus put together a night of music at the bar, with our UK Sales Executive, Connie, joining them for the celebrations. By all accounts, it was a great night! If you fancy getting your hands on a bottle, you can pop into Nauticus in Leith, where the cask is available both by the bottle and by the dram.
Two very different casks, two great Edinburgh bars, and two Ardnamurchans we’re very happy to see being poured in the capital.
