Ardnamurchan distillery

Ardnamurchan distillery stands on Scotland’s most westerly peninsula, where the land ends in rugged cliffs and the sea. The distillery takes its name from the Ardnamurchan peninsula in Lochaber, a place of wild hills and empty roads. It is one of the most remote distilleries in the country, reached only after long drives through forests and along single-track lanes. The building itself is low and modern, blending into the landscape rather than dominating it. Inside, the stills are copper, polished and gleaming under skylights. The whole site runs on renewable power, a rare sight in a whisky works. The distillery belongs to Adelphi, an independent bottling company that decided to build its own distillery. Plans were drawn up in 2011 and approved the following year, with construction starting in 2013. Production began in 2014, and the first official whisky was released in 2017 after three years of cask ageing. By 2020 more than ten thousand casks had been filled, a sign of steady growth. Local schoolchildren even received whisky casks as an investment in 2018, a gesture that showed the community’s pride in the project. Visitors walk past the hydro-electric turbine that powers the stills and the biomass boiler that heats the maltings. Water for the whisky comes from springs high above the site, while the Glenmore river supplies cooling water. Two styles of whisky are produced here: peated and unpeated West Highland malt. The still room is open to view, letting visitors watch the copper pots at work. Outside, the peninsula’s windswept moors and distant sea create a backdrop that no city distillery can match.