We sell some great Ailsa Bay whisky, with their ever-evolving lowland brand putting out some fabulous whiskies that are made using fairly unique techniques.
Their single malts have taken the traditional way in which we Scots make whisky and infused some interesting processes - as well as some Japanese-inspired practices.
The result is a whisky with some peaty punch alongside a noticeable sweetness that makes this a bottle that flies off the shelf.
You can order online or pick up in-store through click and collect, with Web Exclusive Prices on popular Ailsa Bay bottles.
Modern And Innovative
Ailsa Bay is a true modern distillery with all the capabilities of making diverse malt spirit for William Grant's variety of products. The official releases have presented a sweet heavily peated character that directly challenges the traditional lowland style.
Ailsa Bay is a modern and innovative distillery and was built to allow a lot of alteration to its base spirit, meaning it can produce spirit full of esters, sweet and nutty, dry, fruity or even with a peaty tang. It's too early to say exactly what its house character is however.
Founded
2007
Owner
William Grant & Sons
Production Status
Operational
Capacity
12,000,000 Litres
Ailsa Bay was founded in 2007 by William Grant and Sons on the existing site of their Girvan grain distillery. With growing worldwide demand for their Grants, Glenfiddich and Balvenie brands, they decided there was need for creating a key spirit style which could replace their existing malt components in blends and preserve stocks of both Glenfiddich and Balvenie.
Rather than simply replicating their exisiting distilleries, the oppportuniy was taken to vasty diversify their capabilites and focus on delivering four core characters - estery, nutty, fruity and heavily peated.
In 2016 Ailsa Bay produced their first single malt bottling, using a combination of unorthadox techniques alongside the common Japanese practice of vatting different new make spirits before ageing them together in casks. The casks themselves are also quite unusual; the spirit is 'micro-matured' for 6-9 months in Hudson Baby Bourbon casks that are 25-100 litres in capacity, before transferring the spirit into virgin oak as well as first fill and refill bourbon casks.The initial, volatile spirit maturing in the smaller casks provides a more intense development of character as the liquid interacts with the wood. The revatting into standard size casks allows the distillers to marry spirits from multiple baby casks. for the final maturation stage, allowing them to choose which casks to combine to give an extra level of consistency, or in future bottlings, this could be used to craft some very interesting Single Cask releases.
Our Range From The Clyde Distillery
The distillery is currently on Version 1.2 (we told you this lot does things a little differently!), which is a development on their version 1.1 that features more peat and more sweetness.
The Ailsa Bay Sweet Smoke whisky is made through a precise process that leaves it at 22 parts peat and 19 parts sweet.
It’s an interesting take on the typically lighter lowland profile and makes it a cracking addition to any whisky lover’s cabinet.
Royal Mile Whiskies has regular restocks and an expert buying team, so whether your whisky of choice isn’t available now or you’re after something a bit rarer - like the discontinued version 1.1, keep up to date by signing up for our newsletter.
Shop Royal Mile Whiskies To Pair This Modern Whisky With A Timeless Service
We offer UK-wide delivery in 2-3 working days, and your Ailsa Bay will be delivered by a trusted courier in Eco-Friendly packing.
We have a click-and-collect service for those who are based near our store in Edinburgh’s City Centre.
When you shop online with us, you can access some Web Exclusive Prices, but if you have any questions, our team is still here to help - so don’t hesitate to contact us.
