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An Ardnahoe Affair

I’ve had a thing for Ardnahoe ever since the news of Islay’s ninth distillery broke. Any project that could claim the involvement of Jim McEwan would have caught my attention but there was something special about Ardnahoe from the word go. In 2017, I was lucky enough to visit the building site and stand on the foundations of the new distillery. I returned a year later and sipped on a test run of spirit fresh from the newly installed stills. Since then I’ve visited another half dozen times and through the Islay Whisky Academy Kinship, I’m part of a syndicate that owns a cask. So it’s safe to say I’ve been excitedly waiting for the Ardnahoe Inaugural Release for quite a while.

Ardnahoe is the creation of Stewart Laing and his two sons, Andrew and Scott. The story goes that Stewart was sent to Islay by the family firm in the 1960s to learn all that he could about distilling. That posting began a lifelong affinity for the Hebridean island and sowed the seed that would eventually sprout a new distillery in 2018.

Despite production commencing in 2018, the Laings decided not to release their whisky when it reached 3-years-old. Instead, they allowed it to reach the grand old age of 5. Perhaps as the owner of the independent bottler, Hunter Laing, they didn’t feel the same pressure to get a product on the shelf as quickly as possible. Certainly, the distillery visitor centre has always been well stocked with interesting bottles.

Still, a selection of whiskies produced elsewhere is all well and good but a distillery will live or die on the quality of its own product and on that, Ardnahoe has always had a ton of potential. Some interesting quirks have been built into the process, like the longest lyne arms in the business and the only worm tub condensers in Islay. Both were designed to add character to the new make and in Distillery Manager, Fraser Hughes, the spirit could not be in a safer pair of hands. More to the point, any samples I’ve encountered over the years, from new make to 2, 3 and 4-years-old have all shown remarkably well.

How much of that potential has been realised with this inaugural release? Well, there’s only one way to find out!

The Whisky

The Ardnahoe Inaugural Release was matured in ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks. It’s bottled at 50% ABV.

Smell: Thick, dry, ashy smoke. Typical Islay peat. Slightly medicinal. Wee touch of iodine and germolene. Malty, gristy and honeyed. Biscuity. Hobnobs! Buttery shortbread. Apple turnovers dusted with cinnamon. The smoke dissipates over time to become more refined and balanced. Water releases a more delicate side with fresh lemon and lime and even more malt.

Taste: Black pepper and peaty arrival. Liquorice and aniseed. There’s a lightness to the mouthfeel. Salty. Briney. Dry, smoky finish. Water softened the pepper and aniseed and releases apples, lemons, vanilla and biscuity malt. Some toffee and caramel. It also shifted the peat to the finish. There’s a really pleasant, almost grainy, texture emerging which works wonderfully well with the dry, smoky finish. I’ve eaten a few kernels of peated malt at Ardnahoe and I can taste every bit of it here. Develops more citrus as time passes.

Thoughts: The nose is excellent from the start – a wonderful combination of fruit and malt and smoke. I felt it needed some water to wake up on the palate, but wake up it did and what a treat it became. There’s a feeling here of not reinventing the wheel – Islay whisky isn’t broken so don’t try to fix it – but that’s not a criticism or an accusation of playing it safe. It’s actually the greatest compliment I can give. It stands shoulder to shoulder with its neighbours. The Ardnahoe Inaugural Release doesn’t feel like a debut from a new distillery. It feels like a dram that’s been perfected over multiple batches. Obviously I have to hold my hands up, declare my fanboy status and admit to a potential bias in my views, but this feels like an astonishing debut.

Price: £70. Some might question if a 5-year-old malt should be costing this amount but I think we all know just how crazy some debut releases can be. By comparison, this looks like a bargain.

For more about Ardanahoe visit here

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