Whiskeyindex - Ardmore

Ardmore

Scotland Highland Speyside (North-east). (Bogie) / North East Scotland By Kennethmont, 27km south of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Grampian Region. - Situated alongside the Aberdeen to Inverness railway line, below the Knockandy Hill. Close by is Leith Hall.

Distillery: Ardmore Distillery
Kennethmont, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, AB54 4NH
Phone : +44 0-1464 831213
Fax : +44 0-1464 831428
No visitorcentre :(
Manager : Iain Henderson

Founded:

Owner: Allied Distillers Ltd. A part of Allied Domecq.

Producer: Allied Distillers Ltd.

More Info:
Ardmore is used in the Teacher's blends
Known as 12 or 18 Years Old or vintage Vol : 46%

Ardmore Distillery has preserved the original steam engine and coal-fired stills.
Here is a rip from

The Scotch Doc
Ardmore Distillery is located near the ancient villages of Spynie and Kennethmont in rural Aberdeenshire.
It was established by William Teacher in 1898 in response to the 1890's whisky boom.
It is a staple in his successors' blended whisky, Highland Cream.
The distillery originally had only two stills but two additional stills were added in 1955. The stillswere increased to eight in 1974.
An "official" bottling of Ardmore single malt is very rare but independent bottlings can be found from time to time.

Remark from Gordon & MacPhail
Situated at Kennethmont by Huntly, Ardmore produces a full-bodied Highland whisky.
Its rich smoky character is a vital component of Teachers Blended Whisky. As a single malt it has adepth and a complexity which make it an ideal after dinner drink.
Ardmore is not widely known as a single malt, but its qualitiesas such were endorsed earlier this year when it received recognition as 'highlyrecommended' in a Blind Panel Tasting held by Decanter Magazine. With itspungent peaty taste, Ardmore has always been a vital element in a famous anddistinguished blended Scotch Whisky, Teachers Highland Cream and, as wediscovered during our visit to the distillery, almost all of its production does actuallygo for blending. Fortunately, with the authority of the distillery owners, AlliedDistillers, some of this distinctive whisky is bottled and sold as a single malt byGordon & MacPhail.
Ardmore comes from a distillery set deep in the hills of Aberdeenshire, close to the village ofKennethmont. The rolling hills in this area are covered with fertile farm land. The elegantNational Trust Leith Hall is situated on the outskirts of Kennethmont and the main railway linefrom Inverness to Aberdeen runs beside the distillery itself.
It was William Teacher's son, Adam who organised the construction of Ardmore in 1898. These were the years when therewas a boom in the whisky industry. Over the intervening years Ardmore has continued to prosper and is now one of the largerand most modern Scotch Whisky distilleries, with a total capacity reaching some three million litres.
Walking around the distillery, there are a great many reminders of the past. Theoriginal steam engine, that used to power the whole operation, still stands proudlygleaming, somewhat incongruous, behind the modern malting plant used to grindthe grain. Mounted on the wall in the Mash Room, is the side plate of thedistillery's original mash tun, while the walls of the Manager's office are decoratedwith the portraits of the original workforce.
When the distillery was established and for many years thereafter, supplies ofbarley and coal were transported to the distillery by rail. The distillery had its ownsiding which was also used to load the casks of mature whisky when they werebeing dispatched to Teachers in the south. Today some of the buildings whichformed the station still stand and mark a bygone era.
Ardmore draws its water from 14 springs on the Knockandy Hill, which lies to the south of the distillery, cooling water comesfrom the burns nearby. Until the late 1970s, barley was malted at the distillery itself, but in recent years supplies have comefrom local commercial maltsters. The fuller more pungent flavour of the whisky produced here, in contrast to many otherHighland malts, is due to the relatively high peating levels of the barley.
Malt storage is about 1,000 tonnes and the traditional copper domed mash tun ofa notable 25 feet in diameter mashes 12.0 tonnes. There are 14 wooden washbacks, which have a total capacity of 90,000 litres. The wash remains here forapproximately 48 hours until the fermentation process is complete and is then fedto the four wash stills.
Ardmore was initially built with two stills, it was extended in 1958, whena further two stills were added. In 1975, the capacity was doubled withanother four stills, all copies of the original stills. The still room today is the distillery's pride and joy and the reasoningfor this becomes self-evident. Viewed from the high-level entrance to the stillroom, the stills present a magnificent sight - a row of eight elegantly shapedcopper stills, each with an equal capacity of 15,000 litres. The spirit stills varyslightly in shape from the wash stills in that they have a slightly taller neck.
One of the most striking factors about this still room, however, is that the stills areheated in the traditional manner, direct with coal furnaces. This is quite unusual asthere are not many distilleries remaining now which use coal. The stills have thickbases and chain rummagers inside which stop the content from burning. Thecondensors are situated inside the still house and a heat recovering system hasbeen in operation for many years.
The old distillery maltings have been converted into a filling store. Casks arestored in the extensive warehouses which are adjacent to the distillery.
From the old maltings, our tour took us to the cooperage - another memorablepart of our visit to Ardmore. The distillery has its own cooperage, where casksare prepared prior to filling with new whisky. On occasions this entails the firing orchar-ring of the inside of the cask to help with the maturing of the whisky.
The fact that Ardmore is very much a traditional distillery was evident throughoutour visit - even to the point of the customary distillery cat - this one being threelegged - warming itself by the heat of the glowing coals in the still room. Butperhaps the reminders of the past that are found all over the distillery aresignificant in so far as they suggest a continued commitment to the quality of finemalt that has been produced there for so many years.

From the book 'The Scottish Collection' Classic malts by Carol P. Shaw:
Tasting notes : A full-bodied Speyside malt wich is both robust and sweet. An ideal after-dinner dram, although it is not easy to come by; available as a single malt only through independent bottlers. Tasting rating = 4
The distillery at Ardmore was built in 1898 by the Teacher family of whisky merchants and blenders. Since that time almost all its production has gone into Teacher's blends, most famously Highland Cream. Today it is operated by Allied Distillers, so its product also features prominently in Allied's other belnds. Although the distillery has been modernized it still retains some of the original equipment, such as coal-fired stills, which were used in the production of whisky at the end of the nineteenth century.

From the Whisky pilot by Uniqum Systems :
Ardmore distillery was founded in 1898 by Wm. Teacher, on the Eastern edge of Speyside at Kennethmont.
The distillery was built as part of a major expansion programme for the company's popular blended whiskies. Originally it featured to two stills but has doubled in size twice - four stills in 1955 and eight stills in 1974.
Just one year after it being built the whisky market collapsed due to over supply, but Ardmore survived, much due to the fact that it was built to maintain malt supplies for Teachers' Highland Cream.
Today, the distillery is operated by Allied Distillers Ltd, a part of Allied Domecq.
The stills are still coal fired and the steam engine, boiler front and other relics of the original distillery are preserved.
Currently one of the largest malt whisky distilleries in Scotland.
Ardmore is from the Gaelic word, Ard-moi, which means `big-slope'.
Ardmore is situated alongside the Aberdeen to Inverness railway line, below the 1,425 ft Knockandy Hill. Close by is Leith Hall.
The water is taken from a spring on Knockandy Hill.

Comments:

No comments.