Ardmore is a large, Victorian distillery that was founded in 1898 by William Teacher and is located on the fringes of the Scottish Highlands at the highest point of the Northern railway line, 600 feet above sea level near the village of Kennethmont. The distillery draws its water from the naturally rising springs that sit on the 1,500-foot tall Knockandy Hill.

Ardmore was predominantly reserved for Teachers blended whisky that sells over a million cases a year globally, however, popularity and a cult-like following has the distillery producing their very own peated, single malt whiskies. For around 50% of the production, the phenol specification of the malted barley is 12-14ppm and to a large extent, local peat is used. The range includes Legacy, a mix of 80% peated and 20% unpeated malt. The 12-year-old port finish has been recently discontinued. Tradition and Triple Wood are exclusive to travel retail and limited releases dating back a few years include a 20 and 30-year-old.

The distillery is equipped with a beautiful red-painted cask iron semi lauter mash tun with a copper lid. There are 16 Douglas fir washbacks – six of them with a capacity of 90,000 litres and ten of 45,000 litres. When the distillery moved from direct coal fire to steam, the staff spent almost a year manufacturing new steam coils with additional kinks, to reproduce the hot-spots in the stills once created by the direct fires that added to the flavour of the spirit. Under the new steam configuration, Ardmore decided to distil an unpeated version of their whisky under the brand name Ardlair, named after a Pictish stone that stands in a field in Ardlair, Kennethmont and dates back to the Middle Ages.

The distillery is currently working a seven-day week with 23 mashes, focusing on Ardmore from January to March and September to December while the rest of the year will be devoted to Ardlair.