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).

An Ardmore 24 year old distilled in 1977 and bottled in 2002. Cadenhead was founded in 1842 by George Duncan, who was quickly joined by William Cadenhead who renamed the business after Duncan’’s death in 1858. When Cadenhead in turn passed away in 1904, his nephew Robert Duthie took over and turned the business into the independent bottler it is today. After Duthie, it was managed by one of his employees, Ann Olivier, whose stubborn approach to running the business led to much of the stock having to be sold at auction by Christie’’s (London) in 1972 to feed the kitty and save the business. It was then sold to J. & A. Mitchell and Co, who also owned Springbank, and moved to Campbeltown. Launched in the 1990s, the Authentic Collection marked the end of the previous two decades of bottlings at 46%, instead favouring cask strength releases. It became Cadenhead’’s main range. A limited edition of 636 bottles.