It’s hardly shiny or earth-shattering news to write that new distilleries are popping up all over Scotland. In fact, such a statement is unlikely to pique any interest amongst the more learned whisky enthusiasts. However, what does become interesting is when you start to look at the geography of these new distilleries. Many are now re-populating the Lowlands, such as the Glasgow Distillery, or the wee-explosion of distilleries in Fife (e.g. Kingsbarns, Daftmill, etc). Others are adding to the spectrum of Speyside, such as Ballindalloch or Dalmunach.
When starting a new distillery in these current times, the owners will be looking for some key necessities when deciding upon the site of their distillery. In addition to the most obvious requirement (i.e. a good water source), other considerations will be existing infrastructure, convenient access, shared resources, a ready-made tourist trail for visitors, and ease of transport for both the delivery of raw materials and the departure of spirit and filled casks. So – with all these essentials being key to a successful distillery start-up, why would you choose to locate your distillery in one of the most far flung, remote, and inaccessible parts of Scotland? In the case of Ardnamurchan, the answer is pretty simple: Because they can.