Edradour, set in a fold of the hills above Pitlochry in Perthshire, has long claimed the title of one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland. Founded in 1825 by a co-operative of local farmers, it operated for most of its life as a near-domestic concern, with a tiny staff and equipment little changed from the nineteenth century.
The distillery passed through the ownership of William Whiteley and later Pernod Ricard before being bought in 2002 by Andrew Symington of Signatory Vintage, an independent bottler with a strong appreciation for traditional methods. Under Signatory, Edradour has retained its small scale and old-fashioned working practices, including the use of a Morton refrigerator — one of the last in the industry.
The 18 Year Old draws on the distillery's heavier, more sherry-influenced style. Edradour's spirit, produced on stills said to be the smallest legally permitted size in Scotland, has an unusually rich and oily character. Long maturation in sherry-influenced casks deepens this further, yielding the dried-fruit and nutty profile typical of older Edradour bottlings.
Bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill filtered and at natural colour, the 18 Year Old reflects the Signatory house philosophy of keeping the spirit honest. It is a whisky that wears its farmhouse origins openly, and it remains one of the more characterful older Highland malts from a distillery that has, against the odds, kept its old ways alive.
