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Phox Elements
ARDLOCHAN · ISLAY · EST. 1904

Eighteen years

in the dark.

Three hundred bottles, filled by hand from a single refill hogshead, and not a drop of it hurried.
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Base Image

18

years in oak

300

bottles released

54.2%

cask strength

1904

first distillation
HOW IT IS MADE

Six people, two stills and a great deal of waiting.

Nothing here is automated, which is why we cannot make any more of it than we do.
01

Malting

Floor-malted on site over eleven days, turned by hand, peated with moss cut two miles away.
02

Mashing & fermentation

Soft water off the hill, a seventy-two hour ferment, and a wash that tastes of pears.
03

Distillation

Two copper stills with worm tubs rather than condensers, run slowly and cut early.
04

Maturation

Warehoused three casks high, forty metres from the shore, for as long as it takes.
THE CURRENT RELEASE

Ardlochan 18, First Release

Drawn from cask 1147, a refill American hogshead filled in March 2008. Bottled without colouring or chill filtration, because both would be a lie.
Cask
1147, refill hogshead
Filled
March 2008
Bottled
June 2026, 312 bottles
Strength
54.2% abv, cask strength
Price
£195 a bottle, one per member
VISIT THE DISTILLERY

Come and stand in the still house.

Four tours a day, six people at a time, and a dram from a cask that is not for sale.
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DAILY, 11AM & 2PM

The Standard Tour

Ninety minutes through malting, mash house and warehouse, finishing with two drams. £25.
THURSDAY, 3PM

Warehouse Tasting

Three casks drawn by valinch with the warehouseman, in the warehouse, in the dark. £65.
FIRST SATURDAY

A Day in the Distillery

Turn the malt, take the cuts, fill a cask. Lunch in the old office. £240.
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“I have been coming here for eleven years and the only thing that has changed is the label.”

Duncan Pryde
Member since 2015
QUESTIONS

Before you ask us on the phone.

Members enter once per release. Successful entries are drawn at random and charged to the card on file, and everybody is told either way within a week.

No. Six people to a tour and four tours a day means we are usually full a fortnight out.

To the EU, the United States, Japan and Australia. Duty and import charges are the buyer's.

The mash house, still house and shop are level. The warehouse has a cobbled floor and a step, and we will tell you honestly whether it will suit you.

Join the ballot for the next release.

Membership is free, one bottle per person, and we will only email you when there is something to say.
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FIND US

Port Ardlochan, Isle of Islay.

VISIT
Ardlochan Distillery
Port Ardlochan
Isle of Islay PA42 7DX
SPEAK TO US
01496 302 118
shop@ardlochan.scot
The last ferry back to Kennacraig leaves at 18:00. Please do not cut it fine.
  • Tuesday to Saturday
    10:00 - 17:00
  • Sunday
    11:00 - 16:00
  • Monday
    Closed
  • Tours
    11:00 - 15:00