Hey Everyone! Today we are travelling to Scotland to the West Highlands, where Ardnamurchan distillery resides. This is a brand from which I had several bottles and several samples. The stuff they put out is amazing and the way they operate is also amazing. Let's get into.

Ardnamurchan is a 130-square-kilometre peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access route being a single track road for much of its length. The most westerly point of mainland Great Britain, Corrachadh Mòr, is in Ardnamurchan.

Ardnamurchan distillery is considered one of the remotest distilleries in Scotland and takes its name from the peninsula. The distillery was built and is owned by Adelphi, an independent bottling company. Plans for the distillery were submitted in 2011 and approved by the local council in April 2012. The construction began in 2013 and the distillery was completed in May 2014. Ardnamurchan commenced production in 2014. The first official whisky of the distillery (meeting the 3-year statutory requirements) was released in 2017. In 2018, local children were given a charitable gift of Ardnamurchan whisky casks as an investment. As of 2020, the distillery had filled over 10,000 casks.

The distillery is powered by renewable energy to reduce the carbon footprint of the distillery. It is powered by both hydro-electric power and a large bio-mass boiler using timber from the nearby Ardnamurchan forest. The boiler provides heat to the distillery floor maltings. The distillery draws the water for its whisky production from springs above the distillery and uses the nearby Glenmore river as a source for cooling water. The distillery produces two styles, peated and unpeated West Highland whiskies.

We will be taking a look at 8 bottles I've had from them. The revies of each bottles will be brief and quick. After this article, you will be able to decide which bottle you would want to get and which bottle you would like. I hope you will enjoy this little journey.

Ardnamurchan AD/ Sherry Cask Release - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 50%

We will continue with a very anticipated release from Ardnamurchan. Their AD/ recipe matured fully in Oloroso Sherry Casks. It's also a blend of peated and unpeated spirits and it's a yearly batch release. I was waiting for this a long time so I was very hyped when I was finally able to try it. It didn't disappoint me.

Nose: Charred wood, cold campfire smoke, lots of charcoal and ash. Very heavy and complex nose. After some time the Ardnamurchan DNS shines through with lemon zest, mineral notes, saltiness and mint. The sherry influence is there too with prunes, figs, roasted peanuts, and dried herbs, alongside the beautiful gentle coastal touches that most AD bottles have.

Taste: Velvety mouthfeel. It's the tar, dry smoke and charcoal that dominates. But there are notes of cigar boxes, cinnamon buns and darker fruits, lemon, salt and mint. Finally a touch of dark chocolate, as well as some licorice root.

Finish: Long, lots of roasted oak and ash with some salted peanuts and caramel.

Overall this is a stellar dram. If you can buy it, make sure you do. Don't miss out on this. Lovely thing. This enters my points list with a whopping score of 91 / 100.

Maclean's Nose Blended Scotch Whisky - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46%

This blended scotch whisky is also a core range offering from Ardnamurchan / Adelphi. This contains whisky distilled at Ardnamurchan distillery and whisky from other places too.

Made up from the following Malt and Grain Whisky:
40 x ex Bourbon ASB of Malt Whisky distilled in the West Highlands (2018)
5 x ex Bourbon ASB of Malt Whisky distilled in Campbeltown (2016)
16 x ex Sherry hogsheads of Malt Whisky distilled in the West Highlands (2018)
21 x ex Bourbon hogsheads of Grain whisky distilled in the Lowlands. (2017)
Maclean's nose has a very high malt content of 70% and a high proportion of ex-sherry casks.

Nose:  Mostly cirtus fruits, some green apple, sea salt, bonfire smoke and a few dark fruits, some maltiness.

Taste: Burnt citrus peel, roasted pineapple, ash, salt, some dark oranges and figs along with tobacco leaves and some brine.

Finish: Long, dry, salty and ashy.

Very good blend. Very high proportion of malt and sherry casks. It also reflects on the taste. Can't find the grain here. It's truly good. I payed 24 EUR for it and I think it's just a crazy good value. Overall I do recommend this. 89 / 100

Ardnamurchan AD/04.21:03- Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46.8%

This whisky was released in April 2021 and :03 means that it's their 3rd release. A marriage of peated and unpeated spirits. 65% ex-bourbon matured and 35% ex-sherry. 17502 bottles were released to the markets.

Nose: Sweet and ripe yellow fruits, salty pebble stones, light peat, ashy oak, milk chocolate, honey, mineral notes. Dried apricots, cranberries, dried wild herbs. A bit of fresh sea air that adds a maritime touch. Very subtle, minimal smoke. Clay soil.

Taste: Ginger, milk chocolate and ripe citrus fruits and some pears and peach, light oak, vanilla. The smoke is well there in the background.

Finish: A bit disappointing as it disappears very quickly. The smoke remains with chocolate, yellow fruits and spices.

Overall a great young whisky. Has enough complexity to keep us entertained. 84 / 100

Ardnamurchan AD/07.21:05- Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46.8%

This whisky was released in July 2021 and :05 means that it's their 5th release. A marriage of peated and unpeated spirits. 65% ex-bourbon matured and 35% ex-sherry. 19998 bottles were released to the markets. Since it's very much the same stuff as the one I just reviewed, I am not expecting much of a difference.

Nose: Very precise and clean. Great volume. Salty coastal aromas. Sweet, perfumed peat, a bit ashy, citrus fruits, vanilla coming through and then some banana and mango.

Taste: Feels slightly more peaty than the nose, but less smoky, if that makes sense. This is a bit herbal, peppery, lemon, some ash, cold sea water, and fruitiness in the form of green apples and tropical fruits.

Finish: Long, on these herbal, peppery lemony notes with a bit of chocolate too, and some menthol as well.

Without question: This is young but I find it very clean, very honest and very tasty. 85 / 100

Ardnamurchan AD/10.22 Madeira Finish - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 58.2%

This whisky is unpeated. Matured in ex-bourbon and then finished in a Madeira Hogshead. It was released October 2022. Bottled at cask strength and 5781 bottles for all markets.

Nose: Spirity, alcoholic, young and rough at first. Quite closed. 3 drops of water added to 2 cl. Now the magic happens. Sweet molasses, dark rum. Turkis Delight and coconut. Extremely fruity. Papaya, mango and red fruits. Very nice and complex with a bit of added water.

Taste: Quite oily. Spicy. With a small pepper rush and a hint of cooling mint. Lots of caramel and molasses. Dark rum again on the palate. Very fruity. Strawberries and coconut with mango. Tobacco leaves and bitter coffee. Some plums and peaches. This is one of the rare occasions when I prefer the palate to the nose.

Finish: Quite long, drying and woody. Quite bitter. Some milk chocolate and coconut.

Overall it's quite nice but a few years of extra maturation would do this magic. 86 / 100

Ardnamurchan AD/04.21 Paul Launois Release - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 57.6%

Paul Launois is a small Champagne house run by Julian and Sarah Launois, a husband and wife team, with 6.5 hectares of Chardonnay vines in the heart of Cote de Blancs. They provide AD with 10-12 barrels a year that once contained their chardonnay. AD takes 5-year unpeated whisky aged in Ex-bourbon casks and transfers it to these Paul Lanois casks and a sherry cask for a further 12 months.

Nose: Herbal, salty, and earthy. Immediate herbal punch with mint, basil, oregano. Background notes of graham crackers, unripened fruits, and root vegetables. Slightly salty and sweet with tidal marshes, honey, and rotting oak.

Taste: Medium-bodied with sharp herbal notes along with honey, salt, and vanilla. Bunch of herbs: basil and oregano before slightly sweet herbal root vegetables; carrots, parsnips. Butter, honey, vanilla and salted toffee. Green apples, pear and apricots.

Finish: Medium-long to long. With notes of chocolate, black coffee, cloves and a bit of cinnamon.

The nose and taste is very odd. Not really my kind of style. Nevertheless it's a good whisky. Maybe it just takes some time to like this whisky. Since I've only had a sample I couldn't just do that. 83 / 100

Ardnamurchan AD/ Paul Launois Release - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 57.1%

Nose: Starts immediately mineral, rusty and with hints of aromatic gin. Gradually becoming "greener". Llime and roasted almonds. Green apples and juicy apricots. Honey and maltiness. 

Taste: Strong, hefty, dry. Hints of honey and malt, chocolate. Chocolate-covered fruits such as oranges. Banana, grapes and papaya. Maltiness along with some salt.

Finish: Lasts a pleasantly long time. A mix of freshness, sweet bitterness and becoming creamy at the very end.

Overall I like this a lot more than the 04.21. I think this is more in line with what I like. I do recommend it if you can find it. 88 / 100

Ardnamurchan AD/06:17 CK.449 - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 52%

This whisky was bottled for Whisky Show Budapest 2023. From what I know it's peated and unpeated spirits that firstly matured in refill american oak and then was finished in an ex-sherry quarter cask. Only 78 bottles were bottled at 52%. This whisky is 6 years old.

Nose: At first an attack of dried fruits, plums, dates, figs, apricot, secondly plenty of tropical fruits, ripe mango, passion fruit, papaya, pineapple, some honey and vanilla, spices - really not bad.

Taste: Oily, creamy, honey, good sweetness, more tropical fruits, some eucalyptus, mint, some overripe fruits, hints of solvent or varnish, spices, pepper, ginger, bubble gum.

Finish: Medium long, warm, fruity, spicy, honey, some herbs.

I expected more FOR THIS PRICE. Disappointed. The whisky is really good tho. It's like a tuned up core range AD with a bit higher strength. 86 / 100

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Ardnamurchan and it was helpful. To many more. Sláinte.