Scotland, Speyside. Distillery operational. Owner: Beam - Suntory

Somewhat unusually for the Scotch whisky industry, the Ardmore distillery was built entirely by the William Teachers & Son blending company in 1897 in order to create a supply of malt for its blended scotches, including Teacher's Highland Cream, which was released in 1884. Ardmore remained in the family fold until 1976, when it was bought by the Allied Breweries Group, and then Allied Domecq. Founded on this unusual heritage, the distillery continued to maintain its singularity for some time. It produced a partly peated malt (10-15 ppm) and used direct-fired stills until 2001 (a method abandoned by almost all distilleries in the 60s and 70s). These distinctive traits helped build its unique character and would grant it a special place in the family of Speyside malts. Ardmore owes its renown, however, not just to its individuality but also to independent bottlers who, from an early stage, took the malt in hand and introduced it to enthusiasts. With distillery versions almost non-existent, two versions of Ardmore are particularly prized, the Ardmore 16 Year Old Pure Malt Whisky (70s) and the Ardmore 15 Year Old Pure Malt Whisky (80s).

A single cask Ardmore (#800168) distilled in 2008 and bottled at cask strength in 2018, matured in a bourbon barrel. This bottling was part of the Artist range, created by La Maison du Whisky in 2011. Every year, a team from La Maison du Whisky visits Edradour to select casks from various distilleries from the vaults of Signatory Vintage. These casks are bottled individually at cask strength, without chill filtration or colouring. The range is organized into five-year age brackets, such as Over 5 Year Old and Over 10 Year Old. The labels for the range are produced by a different artist every year. A limited edition of 233 bottles.