Ardnamurchan 10 Years Old AD/10

Released in 2025, the AD/10 marks a decade of single malt production at Ardnamurchan and is the first 10 Years Old core expression from the Glenbeg distillery. Bottled by the distillery at 46.8% ABV from a vatting of ex Bourbon and Oloroso casks, with 16,380 bottles allocated for the European market.

The release draws on both peated and unpeated production runs distilled from Concerto barley, fermented 72 to 120 hours in stainless steel on a single strain distiller's yeast, and double distilled through copper pot stills with reflux boil balls to a new make of 74 to 76% ABV. The longer ferment window encourages secondary ester development, while the higher new make strength preserves lighter volatile compounds through condensing. Casks were filled at 63.5% and matured on site in traditional dunnage warehousing, where cool humid coastal air slows extraction relative to inland rack warehouses.

Ex Bourbon American oak contributes vanillin and oak lactones, framing the fresh fruit and citric core of the spirit. The Oloroso fraction adds dried fruit and oxidative complexity through slow oxidation of polyphenols and aldehydes in the rancio profile. A decade has worked the peated portion's phenols (guaiacol, syringol, 4 methylguaiacol from St Fergus Highland peat at 30 to 35 ppm) into a softened smoke that sits behind malt extract and new wood rather than dominating, while the yeasty note reflects fermentation derived congeners under the single strain yeast regime.