Adelphi’s Ardnamurchan Distillery Opens

July 26, 2014 – For the first time in more than a century, Adelphi is distilling its own malt whisky with the commissioning of the new Ardnamurchan Distillery on Scotland’s Ardnamurchan peninsula. The distillery has been running for several weeks, but was officially opened on Friday in a ceremony attended by the Princess Royal, along with Adelphi’s executives and invited guests.

Ardnamurchan is the westernmost distillery on the Scottish mainland, and uses 100% renewable energy in its production process. The distillery’s boilers are fueled by wood chips supplied from local forests, and all of the waste products are recycled for use as animal feed and fertilizer. In a news release, Adelphi director Donald Houston said the need to be environmentally responsible was a key goal from the beginning.

“A key element of the project since its conception has been that the distillery should be run by sustainable, renewable and environmentally benign means.  With a great deal of planning and complex design work, we’re proud that we have achieved this objective. The distillery represents a significant milestone in the long term plan for the development and improvement of the socio economics of Ardnamurchan and will provide enormous opportunities for the development of tourism and the direct and indirect provision of jobs in this very remote and isolated part of Scotland.”

Distillery manager Graeme Bowie supervised construction at the site after joining Adelphi from Balblair, where he was the assistant distillery manager. On this week’s WhiskyCast, he’ll discuss how the distillery was designed and built, along with plans for the future.

Links: Ardnamurchan