Ardnamurchan AD/ Paul Launois
THE DISTILLERY
Ardnamurchan sits on the shores of Loch Sunart, at the tip of the Ardnamurchan peninsula — mainland Britain's most westerly point, and one of the most remote settings any Scotch distillery calls home. Opened in July 2014 by Adelphi, the respected independent bottler, it was built from the outset around sustainability: powered by hydroelectricity and a wood-pellet biomass boiler, with local water and locally sourced barley wherever possible. The distillery makes both peated and unpeated spirit, giving it real range — the unpeated style leaning elegant and fruity, the peated side deeper and more maritime.
THE WHISKY: AD/ PAUL LAUNOIS, 2026 RELEASE
This is Ardnamurchan's most sought-after annual collaboration, and one of the more unusual pairings in Scotch whisky — a fully unpeated single malt finished in Champagne barriques sourced directly from Paul Launois, a celebrated grower-producer based in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, the single most prized commune in the Côte des Blancs. It's the same chalk-soil village behind Krug's Clos du Mesnil and Salon, and the barriques carry that Chardonnay legacy north to the Highlands once their Champagne work is done.
Distilled in March 2017, the whisky spent close to nine years maturing before this finishing period, drawn from a dozen ex-bourbon casks with a small portion of unfinished bourbon-matured whisky blended back in to bring balance and extra fruit character. Bottled at cask strength — 57.4% ABV, natural colour, non-chill filtered — it's a genuinely limited release each year (5726 bottles made) — 2026 marks the whisky's first return since 2024, distilled from Ardnamurchan's fully unpeated style rather than their more common peated spirit.
TASTING NOTES
Colour: Pale gold, bright and clear.
Nose: Fresh and energetic — lemon oil and green apple lead, with a salty coastal breeze underneath. White stone fruit and a gentle grapey lift follow, rounded out by soft vanilla, light toast, and a faint brioche note that speaks directly to the Champagne cask.
Palate: Taut and layered, malty sweetness meeting bright citrus zest before broadening into pear and white peach. A fine peel bitterness and a light mineral tension keep it precise rather than soft.
Finish: Long and warming, candied citrus and cracked pepper fading into a last trace of sea spray.
Serve: Neat, in a tulip glass, to let the interplay between Ardnamurchan's coastal character and the Champagne cask's brioche-and-mineral influence show fully. A genuinely unusual, food-friendly dram — good alongside oysters or a soft, rind-washed cheese if you want to push the Champagne connection further.