Whisky distillery to release malt by inspired hated Scottish beastie

AN AWARD-winning Scottish distillery has released a whisky to celebrate the infamous Scottish Midge, and with the seasonal insect now emerging in big swarms it really is down the hatch.

Ardnamurchan Distillery in the West Highlands is normally plagued by the midge.

But today it announced the newest addition to their core range of whiskies, ‘The Midgie’, paying homage to the Biting Beastie.

In a joint effort, Ardnamurchan Distillery have collaborated with Smidge, the UK’s No.1 Midge Repellent brand, to create a whisky that pays tribute to the ubiquitous midge.

Alex Bruce, Managing Director of Ardnamurchan Distillery, said: “We are delighted to be celebrating the infamous Scottish beastie so synonymous with Ardnamurchan and to be collaborating with Smidge, our seasonal saviour in the West.

“This is a whisky true to its surroundings with a familiar persistence and coastal bite.”

The tasting notes for the Midgie contains brandy snaps, pancake batter, crystallised ginger, nougat, smoked Manuka honey, love hearts, satsuma peel, freshly squeezed orange juice, and extinguished candle.

Followed by mouth-cooling fresh mint, bread and butter pudding, Edinburgh rock, cooked peaches, salted almonds, cookie dough, and ashy. It has a sweet, smoky, lingering finish, with a bite.

The Ardnamurchan peninsula – whose best-known resident is Strictly Come Dancing winner Hamza Yassinza – is famous for its outstanding beauty and abundance of natural resources including the midge.

“Smidge is excited to be collaborating with Ardnamurchan distillery on their Midgie whisky,” said top midge expert Dr Alison Blackwell, Director of APS Biocontrol Ltd.

She added: “They are in the heart of midge territory and it’s a great celebration of one of the most feared Highland animals – but also respected due to their clever survival tactics under often difficult conditions.”

Her company not only makes the insect repellent but also runs the official Scottish Midge Forecast.

The Midgie will be available from UK specialist retailers from today A full list of UK stockists can be found on the Ardnamurchan Distillery website.

With a retail price of £52 per bottle, it offers “exceptional value” for whisky lovers across the UK.

The whisky is bottled at 48 per cent ABV and is produced from a mix of ex-Madeira and Sauternes barriques, as well as some ex-Bourbon barrels and a sherry butt.

As with the rest of the Ardnamurchan whisky range, the Midgie has a blockchain-enabled QR code on the back label which, when scanned, will reward the consumer with a wealth of information about their bottle of whisky.

The dram comes as Scotland’s first main midge hatch of the year has arrived on the back of recent warm and wet weather.

Dr Blackwell says it could be a perfect swarm!

“If the conditions continue we may well see a big first hatch. It is looking good – at least for midges,” she said.

“About 7C is the cut-off point for a midge to fly. Midges also do not like it hot and dry.

“The numbers fall quickly in hot spells. They only have a 2mm wingspan so they become dehydrated quickly.

“But it’s good early conditions for them and that’s why they have already been about.”

The tiny biting insects thrive in wet and warm conditions and usually have two hatchings during the Scottish summer.

Dr Blackwell added: “How big the second peak is, depends on the first generation of midges and how many batches of eggs have been lain.

“The female will lay around 100 eggs in her first batch, which will live off fat reserves from her stomach.

“But she will then lay second or even third batches of 30-40 eggs every few days later and they will need a blood meal.

“That’s where people come in! But only the female bites.”

Scotland has more than 35 species of biting midges, but one dubbed the Highland midge is the most ferocious, according to the forecast team.