Ardnamurchan 2018 AD/ Heritage Barley Release 7 Years Old

Released in 2025 from 2018 distilled spirit, the Heritage Barley Release is a 7 Years Old expression from Ardnamurchan bottled at 59.2% ABV from ex Bourbon casks. The distillery filled 10,290 bottles for the European market. The release substitutes heritage barley varieties for the distillery's usual Concerto, shifting the grain input that drives the spirit's congener profile.

Heritage barley varieties typically yield lower spirit volume per tonne than modern high yield strains, with the trade off of more pronounced cereal character and a denser body in the new make. Fermentation followed the standard 72 to 120 hour window on a single strain distiller's yeast, and double distillation through wash and spirit stills with reflux boil balls reached a new make of 74 to 76% ABV. Spirit was filled at 63.5% and matured on site at Glenbeg in dunnage warehousing.

Ex Bourbon American oak alone frames the maturation, focusing cask interaction on vanillin and oak lactones from the toasted and charred staves. The heritage barley input pushes malt extract and cereal congeners forward in the profile, with cooked fruit and honey notes from Maillard interaction between hemicellulose oak sugars and the heavier grain spirit. Peated phenols from the peated portion of split production (guaiacol, syringol, 4 methylguaiacol from St Fergus Highland peat at 30 to 35 ppm) sit beside the fragrant and oily registers the higher new make strength preserves.