🥃 Ardmore

Ardmore is a distillery and brand of peated single malt Scotch whisky in the village of Kennethmont, near Huntly, in Aberdeenshire. It was founded in 1898 to supply the blend Teacher's, and today its owner is Suntory Global Spirits. The peaty profile has been part of the style from the start, and the whisky is also sold as single malt bottlings.

History. According to Whisky-distilleries.info, the distillery was founded in 1898 by Adam Teacher, son of William Teacher. It then passed from the Teacher family to Allied Domecq, then to Fortune Brands, which became Beam Inc. in 2011; today Suntory Global Spirits is named as owner. Sources differ on the details of these transfers.

How it is made. According to Whisky-distilleries.info, there are four stills for the first distillation, of 15,000 litres each, and four for the second, of 15,500 litres each. The malt is peated with peat from Aberdeenshire, from St Fergus. Ardmore makes peated whisky for Teacher's and also releases single malt versions.

Range. The line includes The Ardmore Legacy, lightly peated, which appeared in 2014 in the Peated Malts of Distinction series, and Tradition, which uses high-moorland peat smoke. The official site describes the whisky as peated single malt, so look for the version name on the label. Several versions mean different levels of smokiness, so do not expect every bottle to taste the same.

Why it matters to you. The region of Ardmore is Highland, although some guides place it next to Speyside, so you may see different labels. Peat gives a smoky profile, and the age on the label refers to the youngest whisky in the bottle. The WHO reminds us: there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.