With there now being nearly 150 distilleries throughout all of Scotland, you might feel a little overwhelmed about where to go, what whiskies to buy, or where to even begin your whisky adventure. My personal opinion is, start with the newer ones.
Some of you might want to see the elegance of The Macallan Distillery, or the old school, more practical and functional distilleries like Glen Scotia and Springbank. But something that many whisky drinkers were never able to do was to see our favorite distillery in its genesis. Unless one of your favorites is listed below, in which case, well done!
Taking a trip through Scotland is beautiful for so many different reasons, but involving new whisky distilleries as part of that journey could help create even more memories for you and them, all at the same time. Below is a list of a few of my favorites, and what they add to the whisky landscape, other than just another dot on a map.
Ardnamurchan
I’ve sung the praises of this place so many times and will continue to do so until my dying breath.
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Adding something new to the west coast mainland of Scotland has been tricky. When you think of Scottish developments, they’re either city-based (makes sense), or they are already in densely populated areas when it comes to somewhere like Speyside or Islay.
But, Ardnamurchan brought not only a new spot to visit on the stunning route of the NC500 but a whole new type of whisky, with experimental creators who are not afraid to try their hands at something new.
Creating peated and unpeated distillates, Ardnamurchan has easily become my favorite distillery which produces fantastic standard and limited edition release bottles. Between their core range, single casks, and limited runs of products, I haven’t spent more with any other distillery in the last four years than with these folks. Bias of mine aside, a list of products you should try and then buy are:
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– Ardnamurchan Midgie Release.
– Any of their single casks.
– Ardnamurchan Paul Lanois…if you can find it.
Owned and operated by the Adelphi independent bottling company, Ardnamurchan is here to stay and I couldn’t be any happier about it.
Torabhaig
Not only is it the mainland of Scotland that is exploding with new investment and business opportunities, but the islands are taking their fair share of it, too.
Torabhaig was an unusual prospect to me when it first came out. On an island as huge as Skye, with a distillery as famous and as well funded as Talisker, surely it’s a bad idea to open in such a sparse place? I am more than happy to say that I was totally wrong.
Every single core release Torabhaig I’ve tried has been miles ahead in interest, flavor, and price than I expected. Never before have I seen so much information on a label with Torabhaig, certainly not on any peated whisky. The barrel types, vintages, yeast type, PPM prior to and after distillation. Everything you could want to know something about their whisky is in front of you to view as you pour into a glass. This transparency and overall honesty from distillers is not new, but the amount of information on the Torabhaig labels is unprecedented.
The distillery is in wealthy hands, albeit independent, but to go to such a famous location and to be knocking on the door of one of the most famous distilleries in the world with the ability to create incredible liquid is something that I admire so much with Torabhaig.
Bottles to look out for:
– Torabhaig Allt Gleann.
– Torabhaig Batch Strength.
Ardnahoe
Islay. An island that now has ten functioning distilleries, with another two on the way. It’s strange to think that of 790 islands that surround Scotland, this one is Mecca when it comes to whisky. Location is always key when it comes to modern whisky fans. Can we get there? Can we stay there? Is there plumbing? All of these questions are important, but not as important as the reactions that I saw on day one of the Ardnahoe whisky launch.
It was the first time in my life, as a retailer, that I got to launch a product before any other shop in the world. The Whisky Shop had an exclusive on Ardnahoe for the first ten days of its launch, handing this whisky out to customers who had heard some rumblings about it, but weren’t fans of peated whisky in general. Seeing their faces as this liquid went through the mind and mouth, 90% of them said “That’s actually really good”.
I’ve had this with single cask releases, and the odd change in taste from a customer over the years. But never with a first release, certainly not a moderately peated, 50% ABV, 5 year old liquid.
The beauty of Ardnahoe is the appeal to whisky drinkers of every kind. The distillery looks clean and modern but also utilizes worm-tub condensers – something of a more old-school approach. The family behind it is Hunter Laing, one of the most long-living bottlers of independent whisky, rum, and now bourbon, too.
Younger drinkers may not know of the family history, but they do know that there’s a new distillery on Islay, whose young liquid is pulling in the praises of nearly everyone who’s drank it.
Try what you can, assess it, and be honest about it. Everyone I know who has done that with Ardnahoe has come out singing its praises.
Bottles to look out for:
– Ardnahoe Inaugural Release 5YO
– Ardnahoe Feis ilse Release
The Modern Whisky Industry, & Why You Should Try As Much As You Can
These are only three suggestions out of a number that keeps growing by the day, whether they be brand new distilleries, or closed sites that are reopening after however many decades collecting dust. Ironically, I think that this is indicative of the direction of the scotch whisky world today. It’s regenerative, it’s greener, it’s mostly younger stocks that are ending up exciting most of us, and that could also be from a cost perspective as well.
Back in the 1960s and 70s when whiskies were being bottled, the vattings and blends contained such older stocks because that’s what the distilleries had at their disposal. I wouldn’t necessarily even say that the casks were better either, not with the amount of
money and attention that is paid for sourcing wood today.
What we have now are distilleries, ones on this list and others, who have a point to try and make things fun, exciting, and not necessarily sought-after, premium. The companies that are doing that are currently facing massive issues of a lot of stock they can’t sell out of, as well as having to look at their pricing structures. These newer places need the money, not more, but as much, and their products are more interesting, less marketed, and open to everyone. Those who became giants may have carved the path, but everyone who walks it faces the same issues.
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