Beam Suntory Flexes Scotch Muscles With Ardray

Today we embark on a new era in blended Scotch whisky as we reveal Ardray in the United States. Ardray is an exquisite, beautifully complex, yet approachable malt-rich blended whisky, created to challenge preconceptions and offer a fresh perspective in Scotch.

Bringing the unique terroir of Scotland together with the precision and artistry of Japan defines this moment. Realized by the award-winning Suntory blending team from Japan, Ardray brings together only the finest, most complex whiskies to celebrate the wonderful attributes that make Scotch so special.

Ardray’s journey began with a vision. A vision to create a whisky that wonderfully balances multiple layers of flavor. Beam Suntory’s Chief Blender for Scotch, Calum Fraser, worked tirelessly with Suntory’s blenders, architects of the superbly balanced recipe, to bring this to life. Calling on blend styles of the past when fewer, more characterful malts were blended to create whiskies of distinction, complexity, and depth, Ardray intertwines the past and the future.

With inspiration drawn from The Father of Japanese Whisky, Suntory’s founder Shinjiro Torii, his journey now comes full circle. A hundred years ago, inspired by traditional Scottish whisky, Torii-San envisioned a Japanese approach to create a subtle, refined, yet complex whisky that would suit the delicate palate of the Japanese. With this remarkable blend, we honor Torii’s quest, from a reinterpretation of Scotch for the Japanese palate to Ardray: a new, elegant interpretation, designed to celebrate the excellence of blended Scotch Whisky.

Built on the premise that blended whisky is an art form that deserves both respect and reappraisal, we have created Ardray to challenge preconceptions. In treating both malt and grain whiskies as equals, we have produced a whisky that is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

Drawing from just a handful of the finest Scotch distilleries from Beam Suntory, a world leader in premium spirits and our partners at Edrington (owners of The Macallan, The Glenrothes and Highland Park), this is a blended whisky that captures the role of terroir and the production traditions of Scotland’s distilleries that define each of their unique spirit character.

Calum Fraser, Chief Blender for Scotch, commented, “In creating Ardray, we have combined an exceptional selection of the very best Scotch whisky has to offer with the inspiring talent of Suntory’s blending team to create something new, refreshing and exciting. The time, care and attention to detail taken to source both malt and grain whiskies from some of Scotland’s most noted distilleries has allowed us to explore hundreds of blends of Scotch malt and grain whiskies to achieve Ardray’s optimum balance of multi-layered flavors. Driven by the desire to ensure the true beauty of this blend is greater than the sum of its parts. Ardray promises a rich and complex taste, with a distinctive harmony of flavors: a mild, gently floral, and citrusy fruitiness, with a vanilla custard creaminess and a rich, silky mouthfeel and lengthy aftertaste that is unmatched.”

Ardray is bottled at 48% alcohol by volume (96 proof) and non-chill filtered, with a recommended retail price of $85.