Ardnamurchan AD/10 10th Anniversary Edition

Released in 2024 to mark ten years since the distillery's founding, the AD/10 10th Anniversary Edition is a one off bottling at 50% ABV drawn entirely from ex Bourbon casks. The distillery released 16,746 bottles for the European market.

Production at Ardnamurchan starts with Concerto barley milled into a copper topped semi lauter mash tun, fermented 72 to 120 hours in seven stainless steel washbacks on a single strain distiller's yeast. Double distillation through two wash and two spirit stills with reflux boil balls produces a new make at 74 to 76% ABV, condensed through shell and tube units and filled at 63.5% for ten years on site in dunnage warehousing. The release brings together both peated and unpeated production runs from the distillery's split regime.

Ex Bourbon American oak as the sole cask type focuses the maturation contribution on vanillin and the cis isomer of beta methyl gamma octalactone (whisky lactone), producing the vanilla, fresh fruit and citric character listed in the profile. Honey notes derive from Maillard interaction products with the wood sugars released during ten years of expansion and contraction. The fragrant top note reflects long fermentation esters preserved through the higher new make strength, particularly isoamyl acetate and ethyl hexanoate. New wood character throughout reflects the cleaner American oak palette without sherry counterweight.