Aberargie Expressions to support Scotland’s young farmers with new barley series

Perthshire distillery will donate £1 from every bottle sold in the UK to the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

Aberargie Distillery has launched Expressions – a new series of single malt whiskies celebrating the influence of barley, while supporting the next generation of Scotland’s farming community.

Aberargie Expressions Single Malt Whisky – Golden Promise and Laureate editions will both be available from specialist UK retailers from 15 September, following the sell-out success of the Perthshire distillery’s inaugural release in March 2026.

The new series comprises two single malts made separately from Golden Promise and Laureate barley, allowing whisky drinkers to explore the individual character of each variety for the first time.

Aberargie will donate £1 from every bottle of Aberargie Expressions sold in the UK to the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC), helping the organisation support young people across Scotland’s rural communities. The distillery’s donation will specifically help young farmers in the East region through social events and personal development.

The partnership has personal significance for Aberargie head of production Graeme McKeddie, a third-generation farmer whose family’s farming history dates back to the 1800s.

Graeme grew up on his family’s mixed arable and beef farm, spending much of his childhood alongside his parents in the tractor cab before taking the wheel himself as a teenager. Following his father’s death in 2022, Graeme now helps his mother run the farm, which primarily grows malting barley.

He said: “Like many people in the farming community, I was born into it. Farming is in my blood. My family has been on our farm since the 1950s, with a history of farming stretching back generations.

“Small-scale farming is hard work, and the rewards are never guaranteed. That is why supporting SAYFC and the young people who represent the future of Scottish farming feels particularly important to us.

“As both a farmer and a distiller, you develop a greater appreciation of what is in your glass. Behind every whisky are generations of knowledge, passion and hard graft – not only from the people who distil it, but from those who grow the barley.”

Aberargie Distillery sits on the Morrison family’s 300-acre farm near Perth and operates according to a field-to-bottle philosophy, using barley grown on its own land to create its single malt.

Its inaugural whisky combined spirit distilled from Golden Promise and Laureate barley. Aberargie Expressions now separates the two varieties, offering a closer look at the role this essential raw ingredient can play in a whisky’s final character.

Graeme added: “Farming and distilling are intrinsically linked at Aberargie. Understanding the farm is especially valuable when considering how the distillery contributes to its circular economy and regenerative farming practices.

“Expressions gives us the opportunity to place barley at the centre of the conversation and recognise the farming knowledge and work behind every bottle.”

Aberargie Expressions is available from specialist whisky retailers across the UK

Stay updated via https://aberargie.com and follow on social via @aberargie

ABERARGIE EXPRESSIONS TASTING NOTES

ABERARGIE GOLDEN PROMISE

Produced from 100% Golden Promise barley and matured in 68% first-fill Bourbon casks and 32% first-fill Sherry casks. The whisky is described as rich and full-bodied, with aromas and flavours of warm buttered pastry, stewed apples, brown sugar and gentle baking spices, followed by a lingering finish. Non-chill-filtered and bottled at 48.2% ABV.

ABERARGIE LAUREATE

Produced from 100% Laureate barley and matured in 32% first-fill Bourbon casks and 68% first-fill Sherry casks. The expression offers notes of candied orange peel and dried fruit, complemented by crisp orchard fruit and a lingering honeyed finish. Non-chill-filtered and bottled at 48.2% ABV.

Availability: Specialist whisky retailers worldwide
Early Access Registration: www.aberargie.com
Social: @aberargie on Facebook and Instagram

About Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers

Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers is an independent, family-owned company based in Perth, Scotland. Rebranded in 2020, MSWD represents five generations of Morrison whisky heritage under one name, with a focus on single malt production, brand development, blending and bottling. Its flagship brands include Aberargie, Old Perth, Mac-Talla, Càrn Mòr and Bruadar.

At the heart of MSWD’s operations is Aberargie Distillery, built on a family-owned farm near Perth. From the first fill in 2017, the distillery represents the Morrison family’s return to distilling after the 1994 sale of Morrison Bowmore to Suntory. The first release of Aberargie will launch in March 2026; this is the cornerstone of the business.

About: Golden Promise

Aberargie is one of the few distilleries in Scotland to operate a barley-to-bottle philosophy, using heritage Golden Promise barley grown on the fields in front of the distillery, as well as Laureate barley from the two other family farms.

This approach allows Aberargie to oversee the quality of raw materials from the outset. All barley varieties are grown to the family’s own standards, with full provenance, terroir and traceability embedded across the seed to spirit process.

Central to the distillery’s production philosophy is Golden Promise, the heritage barley variety once favoured by leading Scotch producers throughout the 1960s and 70s. Although lower-yielding than modern strains, Golden Promise is grown at Aberargie for its flavour benefits, producing a full-bodied, malty new-make spirit with notable oiliness and depth.

Morrison Family

Among Scotland’s longest-established whisky families, the Morrisons’ name is woven into the fabric of Scotch, with five generations working as grocers, brokers, blenders, bottlers, and distillers. From managing iconic distilleries to creating award-winning brands, their legacy is one of craftsmanship and tradition.

Douglas Laing XOP Carsebridge 40 Years Old

A remarkably rare 40 Year Old Single Grain Scotch Whisky from the legendary Carsebridge Distillery – bottled in Douglas Laing’s prestigious XOP (Xtra Old Particular) range. Distilled in December 1982 and matured for four decades in a Refill Hogshead, this exceptional whisky has developed extraordinary depth, elegance and refinement. Bottled at natural cask strength (40.6% ABV), with no chill-filtration and no added colouring, it offers a pure expression of time, cask and spirit. With just 194 bottles produced worldwide, this is a true collector’s release from a long-closed distillery — increasingly scarce and highly sought after.

Our Xtra Old Particular range carries only aged and rare Single Cask Scotch Whiskies from some of Scotland’s most acclaimed and celebrated Distilleries, including those that are long-closed. Each one a marvel in its own right, XOP is bottled at Natural Cask Strength, exceptionally old and truly spectacular. Packed with extraordinary flavour, our Exceptional Single Cask Whiskies exemplify our ‘As Natural As It Gets’ Philosophy by serving a rich reward for those looking to savour a dram straight from the cask.

£237.50

We’re delighted to announce that our Isle of Harris Single Malt Whisky is now available in the USA. Crafted here in the Outer Hebrides and shaped by the people and place we call home, our new single malt can now be found in selected liquor stores across the United States.

So, keep an eye out for the Isle of Harris Single Malt Whisky on shelves near you, or visit our USA online shop to order a bottle and discover our island whisky for yourself.  From the Isle of Harris to America, sent with craft and care from the team here in Tarbert.

ORDER IN THE USA

The forecast for Thurso this week is roughly what you would expect. By midwinter we will be down to about six hours of daylight and we all agree not to mention it. Madeira, meanwhile, gets called the island of eternal spring, largely because it is one. That is where these casks spent their working life, holding fortified wine under a sun we see perhaps four times a year. They came north last autumn. We filled them with whisky that had already spent eleven years in first-fill bourbon casks on the Caithness coast, and gave it a final twelve months in the Madeira wood. You can taste where that wood has been. Dried fruit, sultana, orange marmalade and soft toffee over the orchard fruit of the house style, with a long warming finish and dark caramel at the end of it. We are not going to pretend it makes October any brighter. It is simply what we want in the glass once the nights draw in.

The Good Dram Show – Episode 649 ‘Bruichladdich Octomore’

Welcome to this week’s episode of the show in which I’ll be taking a look at the newly released Octomore 17’s. The Good Dram Show with Chris Goodrum Episode 649 – It’s A Monster, But It Loves It’s Tummy Tickled..!? Filmed in The Study Nottingham.

Featuring

Bruichladdich Octomore 17.1 (5 year old) 59.7%
Bruichladdich Octomore 17.2 (5 year old) 59.5%
Bruichladdich Octomore 17.3 (5 year old) 60.9%

www.bruichladdich.com