For today’s review we’ll be having a look at the latest Ardnamurchan The Midgie release. Where the first release was mostly only available in the UK, this second release saw more bottle reach shores across the globes, which means it’s high time for a review! This year’s release is made of 75% unpeated and 25% peated whiskies, with a mix of 50% ex-bourbon barrels, 48% ex-port barriques and 2% sherry casks. It comes in at an ABV of 48%! I’m curious to find out how this one stacks up to other popular Ardnamurchan releases!
For all those who have visited Scotland before (especially during the summer) the Midgie is a well known phenomanom. The little mosquito is all prevalent during the summer season, leading to some campgrounds even give off a warning on booking sites that they cannot help there being Midgies! If anything, I think it’s save to say the Midgie isn’t the most popular of creatures in Scotland. But all that might change now, as the little creature has it’s very own bottling of Ardnamurchan Whisky. Which is, as we all know, a very popular spirit indeed! Let’s find out in the tasting notes how the two mix and match!
Tasting Notes: Ardnamurchan The Midgie (2025 release)
Stats:
Age: NAS
ABV: 48%
Distillery: Ardnamurchan
Chill-filtered: No
Natural Colour: Yes
Nose:
On the nose we’re welcomed by fresh malty notes, like walking into the distillery itself. There’s fresh baked bread and oatmeal aplenty. But it’s beautifully balanced with soft citrus notes of lemon and kumquat and luscious lemon pie. Some florar elements of roses and hyacinth add another layer into the mix and finally there’s a generous helping of green apples to round it all off.
Palate:
Lots of baked goods are here to explore with fresh apple pie and warm cinnamon buns as the two standouts. A lovely touch of pepper pairs beautifully with the malty notes of fresh baked bread and a layer of honey mixes in nicely. A hint of candied orange peels gives some more depth to this palate and makes it all-in-all a very pleasant sip!
Finish:
The finish on this Ardnamurchan the Midgie is medium long with loads of pepper, liquorice root tea and charred oak. Some of the spicyness here also reminds me of cinnamon, but it’s almost confectionary sweet, hinting more towards a cinnamon syrup.
Food Pairing:
This dram would go very well with a slice of apple pie or even with a large chunk of milk chocolate. For those looking for a savoury option though, I would highly recommend some aged cheese or smoked fish.
Verdict:
As you can perhaps tell from my notes, I can barely sense any peat in this dram at all. It’s definitely there, but it sits pretty far in the background. In fact, while almost half of the casks were ex-port barriques, I wasn’t picking up much of that either. Does that make this a bad dram? Definitely not! It’s a very pleasant dram in fact and I think it would be a perfect sipper especially for these warm summer months. I’d say that’s the perfect match for it’s namesake the midgie! It’s not my favourite Ardnamurchan by a long shot, but for the price tag there’s still no regrets when sipping this one!