Ardray Whisky

Ardray, which means ‘towards the light’ in Scottish Gaelic, is a blended whisky brand from Beam Suntory that is all about collaboration. The Suntory blending team in Japan and Calum Fraser, Beam Suntory’s chief blender for Scotch, trialled over 200 different recipes before settling on the whisky you see today. It’s made up from malt from Beam Suntory and Edrington distillers plus grain whisky from an undisclosed source. The resulting blend is bottled at 48% with no chill filtering. The blenders are spoiled for choice when it comes to malt whisky from Beam Suntor. Not only does it own the Japanese and American giants that are featured in its name (Jim Beam and Suntory, duh) but also impressive distilleries in Scotland including Laphroaig, Ardmore, Bowmore and Auchentoshan. It doesn’t end there, however, because Edrington UK distribute Beam Suntory products in this countrym giving it VIP access to distilleries like Highland Park, The Glenrothes, and The Macallan. The multinational blended whisky was released in 2023, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Suntory. Though it might be made up of Scotch whiskies, it takes its inspiration from Suntory’s founder Shinjiro Torii. It’s certainly a blend that’s sure to get whisky enthusiasts excited and make even the sniffiest of single malt aficionados prick up their ears.