Aberargie has launched its first single malt (Image: Aberargie)

A stunning distillery just over an hour from Glasgow has just released its first-ever single malt.

Aberargie Distillery, which is set on the 300-acre Morrison family farmland near Perth, recently welcomed a selection of industry experts to experience Aberargie's approach first-hand, from the fields where its barley is grown to the stillhouse, warehouses and bottling hall.

To celebrate the launch, award-winning chef Peter McKenna of recently opened Bistro Eleven Fifty Five - formerly the Gannet, brought together a selection of dishes to complement the atmospheric warehouse tasting led by Aberargie's own Niel Hendrikzs and Graeme McKeddie.

Bistro Eleven Fifty Five

The distillery's first-ever single malt, the Inaugural release, is now available from Aberargie.com and global specialist whisky retailers, priced at £65 (RRP).

To coincide with the anticipated launch, Aberargie has today released a new campaign film that looks back at five generations of Morrison family whisky heritage, weaving archive photography into a modern-day portrait of Aberargie and its single-minded focus on flavour.

The film also celebrates the return of Golden Promise as a base malt, a heritage barley once favoured by Scotland's leading producers, now central to Aberargie's house character.

Aberargie

The brand said Aberargie is now one of the few distilleries in Scotland operating a true barley-to-bottle philosophy, using heritage Golden Promise barley grown in the fields in front of the distillery, alongside Laureate barley from the Morrisons' two other family farms.

The inaugural single malt has been distilled using barley grown on the family's 300-acre farm, reinforcing what they say is full provenance and traceability from "seed to spirit".

Aberargie Single Malt Scotch Whisky - Inaugural Release is made with a mash bill of 52 per cent Golden Promise and 48 per cent Laureate, and matured in a combination of first-fill bourbon and first-fill sherry casks, creating what the distillery describes as a house style built from the ground up. Bottled at 48.2% ABV, it is non-chill-filtered and presented without added colour.

Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Tasting notes highlight baked apple and golden pastry, followed by sultanas and prunes, with a lingering herbal finish.

Speaking following the distillery gathering, whisky writer Dave Broom said: "Not 'showing potential', but already fully formed. Form a queue."

Writer and distiller Kristiane Sherry added: "At Aberargie, it's about grain, casks and time - that's it."

Dave Broom

Managing director of Aberargie Distillery, Niel Hendriksz, said: "We wanted to bring people to Aberargie to see the whisky in its natural habitat - the fields, the stillhouse and the warehouses, because our inaugural single malt is shaped as much by this farm as it is by our casks.

"Golden Promise is a key part of our flavour story, and being able to share that barley-to-bottle ambition with industry friends at the distillery felt like the right way to mark this moment."

Not 'showing potential', but already fully formed. Form a queue.

The wider picture

The drinks business rewards patience. Recipes get refined quietly, formats get resized, and the label often changes long before anyone notices the liquid has.

The short version

  • A stunning distillery just over an hour from Glasgow has just released its first-ever single malt
  • Aberargie Distillery, which is set on the 300-acre Morrison family farmland near Perth, recently welcomed a selection of industry experts to experience Aberargie's approach first-hand, from the fields where its barley is grown to the stillhouse, warehouses and bottling hall
  • The distillery's first-ever single malt, the Inaugural release, is now available from Aberargie.com and global specialist whisky retailers, priced at £65 (RRP)
  • To coincide with the anticipated launch, Aberargie has today released a new campaign film that looks back at five generations of Morrison family whisky heritage, weaving archive photography into a modern-day portrait of Aberargie and its single-minded focus on flavour
  • The inaugural single malt has been distilled using barley grown on the family's 300-acre farm, reinforcing what they say is full provenance and traceability from "seed to spirit"

All told

The details will firm up over the coming months. What is already clear is that this is unlikely to be the last we hear of it.