For many devotees of single malt whisky, the beauty of the glass bottle is part of the joy.

But now one distillery has launched the world’s first Scotch to be sold in a plastic bottle.

The Ardnamurchan distillery in the west Highlands is releasing its flagship Ardnamurchan AD/ single malt in bottles made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate).

The 50cl bottles are initially being launched in Norway where recycling rates on plastic bottles can be as high as 97 per cent.

The Ardnamurchan Distillery has launched the world’s first single malt in a plastic bottle

The distillery said that creating the new packaging aligned perfectly with their environmental credentials.

The PET containers are far lighter than a traditional glass bottle, using less emissions in shipment, and will go on to be reused multiple times in the market.

Ardnamurchan’s international sales manager Graeme Mackay said: ‘This is the next step of our sustainable evolution at the distillery.

‘We are one of the most sustainable distilleries in the country. We use 100 per cent biomass to fuel our distillery.

‘In Norway this will be a new release of our AD/ single malt – our flagship whisky. We are bottling it at a slightly lower ABV of 46 per cent.

‘The reason we are embracing this plastic bottle is because in Norway they have a very closed loop system where they recycle upwards of 90 per cent of the material.

‘This is a much lighter bottle so when this travels abroad it is using less emissions as well.

‘We will be the world’s first single malt Scotch whisky in PET.’

Scotch Whisky Association rules state that bottles must be made of an ‘inert’ material – and not specifically glass 

The whisky has launched nationwide this month in Vinmonopolet stores across Norway at a price of around £32.

The distillery has insisted the quality and taste of the whisky will be preserved in the PET bottle the same way it would in a glass one.

In a statement, the distillery added: ‘Established wisdom says that PET bottles are used for bargain-basement, poor-quality booze, often with brands you have rarely encountered before.

‘We always want to embrace change, and see this as a perfect opportunity to show that PET bottles can contain delicious whisky for a great price.’

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) rules state that Scottish single malts must be bottled in their country of origin – not shipped in bulk as is permitted with blends and other sub-categories.

However, the trade body only specifies that bottles must be made of ‘an inert material’ rather than the traditional glass.

Ardnamurchan Distillery launched in 2014 and two years ago it released a whisky in homage to the Scottish midge.