Named after Scotland’s most infamous ‘wee beastie’, the Highland Midge, this is the second batch of The Midgie from Ardnamurchan (pronounced ard-na-mur-kan). Just like the tiny flying insect that terrorises the western Highlands and islands, this limited release whisky comes out during the brief Scottish summertime.
The Midgie Batch Two released in 2025 is a marriage of peated and unpeated Ardnamurchan spirit distilled in 2017, 2018 and 2019. This has been matured in a combination of American ex-bourbon barrels, ex-Port Barriques, and ex-Sherry casks. Comparatively, the inaugural 2024 release features the use of ex-Madeira and Sauternes barriques, as well as some ex-Bourbon barrels and a sherry butt. While only 6,200 bottles were released exclusively in the UK market for the debut bottling, Batch Two is more widely available globally thanks to a larger 16,500 bottle batch.
Launching for its second season, the Ardnamurchan The Midgie Single Malt is spreading its wings further than ever before. A frenzy of tropical and fresh summer fruits combine with our West Highland maritime profile, adding persistency and bite.
Alex Bruce, Managing Director of Adelphi Distillery Ltd.
Ardnamurchan Distillery was founded in 2014 by independent whisky bottlers Adelphi Selection. Ardnamurchan translates as “Headland of the Great Seas”. It is located in the village of Glenbeg on the remote Ardnamurchan Peninsula. It is the most westerly distillery on the UK mainland. The distillery is one of the more eco-friendly in Scotland with a circular economy. Everything used is being taken from and returned to the local environment. Following what they describe as the lightest-touch approach to distilling in their remote location.
The distillery has an annual production capacity of 500,000 litres, but is currently operating at around 350,000 litres per year. Production is split – half is unpeated and the other half peated to a level of 30-35ppm (Phenol Parts per Million).
The Ardnamurchan range builds around one core expression, Ardnamurchan AD/. They also release a series of cask releases which showcase how the spirit responds to maturation in different cask types. The Midgie Batch Two is bottled at a 48% ABV without the use of chill-filtration or colour additives. The Midgie is available from UK retailers for RRP of £55, and soon to be seen in retailers globally.
Our Tasting Notes
Rich golden in colour, this whisky has a vibrant characteristic nose. Initially there are lashings of sweetness – milk chocolate, burnt caramel and hazelnut praline. This is balanced by bittersweet citrus – lemon zest and dried orange peel, tropical pineapple and a hint of red fruit, like cranberry. The gentle underlying savoury peat smoke is enhanced by freshly ground white pepper. Supporting the smokiness is alpine herbal leafiness with a hint of chamomile floral aromas and tobacco leaf.
Quite luscious on the palate this whisky begins with juicy, fruity and sweet characters. There is caramel, hazelnut praline and heather honey plus ripe tropical fruit, candied citrus peel, and some refreshing green apple. The initially calm peaty taste then pops with intense woodfire smokiness. Charcoal ash and burnt moss meld with burnt sugar bitterness, tobacco leaf, and luxurious old cigar box. The overarching flavour that binds all of this together is bold maltiness and oatiness – like malted tea biscuits, oatmeal cookies and oat cakes.
Warming peppery spices come through towards the end with fresh gingerbread and white pepper. The reasonably lengthy finish sees the sweetness fade then gentle ashiness take on further bitter herbal notes right at the end. Wood tannins come through giving a balancing drying quality.
What’s The Verdict?
This whisky is expressive and enjoyable with a lovely mix of sweet and savoury notes. The gentle smoke wraps around everything and binds these characteristics together, and a lovely biscuity note develops nicely. The Midgie Batch Two is also more widely available than the popular inaugural release, which is a welcome change. It is great to see Ardnamurchan growing their reputation with several recent high quality small batch releases. This is no different and sits well alongside its siblings.
