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WHISKY REVIEWS, NEWS, HISTORY & FOLKLORE

What the hell is going on in Islay?

Neill Murphy reflects on the state of Islay whilst enjoying a drop of the Ardnahoe Infinite Loch Single Malt.

Islay’s whisky landscape is becoming increasingly congested, not to mention complicated. It’s really quite amazing how much has changed since the day Hunter Laing announced the creation of Ardnahoe back in 2016. There was an excitement around the island’s 9^th distillery and if early releases are anything to go by, that anticipation was well founded. Thus far, Ardnahoe has proved itself a great addition to the whisky isle.

Since then, the mighty Port Ellen has sparked back into life with the full force of Diageo behind it, bringing the number of distilleries to ten – or eleven, if you include Islay Rum. Elixir Distillers’ hulking Portintruan build on the outskirts of Port Ellen has hit a snag with the collapse of the construction company that was building it. Then there’s the joint Islay Ales / Ian McLeod Brewery & Distillery project at Laggan and the recent announcement from Chivas that they’re taking on the seemingly-cursed Gartbreck project and building a new plant on a site famously bereft of water.

You could be forgiven for thinking that this is all getting a bit silly. Each of the distilleries in Islay relies on a creaking infrastructure, including the struggling Cal Mac ferry service which can’t go a day without some new attack being published in the tabloid press. More widely there’s reports on sales falling, expansions being put on hold and even distilleries sliding perilously close to the abyss. Though Scotland has thus far been spared any such catastrophes, we’ve seen Penderyn close their Swansea site within a year of opening it, Sweden’s Mackmyra forced into administration and now, Mark Reynier’s Waterford project has hit the skids.

Elsewhere, Edrington have sought to streamline their model by concentrating fully on the luxury market cash-cow and have sold off the Famous Grouse. There was the troubling news that independent bottler, The Single Cask, felt the need to bin the entirety of the marketing team and the afore-mentioned collapse of the construction company that was building Portintruan. By any measure, this is an odd backdrop for the unveiling of new distillery plans.

I don’t enjoy painting myself as some kind of harbinger of doom. I don’t set out to sound negative. As a lover of whisky I welcome any and all new distilleries. They each offer the chance to embark on a new adventure and that will never not be desirable. I just think the vast majority of people who ask the question “does Islay really need more distilleries right now?” would struggle to come up with any answer other than “no”.

That said, visit any new distillery and you feel the enthusiasm of the people involved. There’s ambition and innovation and positivity in the air and it’s hard not to feel bouyed by that. Ardnahoe is a great example. Hunter Laing got in and got up and running before the current warning signs. They’re already putting out whisky with 5 year age statements and bloody good it is too.

The next chapter of the Ardnahoe story arrived in the form of Infinite Loch, the first core expression. It comes bottled at the reassuringly bold strength of 50% abv and with the reasonable price tag of £55. I’m not sure I can think of a better way to feel positive about new Islay whiskies than by actually sipping on one, so here goes…

Ardnahoe Infinite Loch Review

Tasting notes: There’s a nice balance to the nose. At first it’s fresh, sweet and breezy with lemon scent, straw, vanilla butter cream and a whiff of the sea. The smoke arrives, subtle at first, but there’s a stronger, more acrid note that comes through in the peat from time to time. Overall it’s quite lightly peated but every now and again there’s a big blast of smoke. There’s a delicacy to the mouthfeel, it feels light, almost effervescent with coastal saltiness and, towards the back, that oh-so-familiar tang of peat. Throw in some black pepper, a touch of liquorice and some soft oak tannins and you have a very pleasant package overall.

Thoughts: Infinite Loch seems to cover a few bases: there’s some sweetness, some saltiness, some smokiness and a touch of dryness – particularly in the finish. I keep coming back to the word “fresh” because that’s exactly how it feels – like a bright, breezy spring day in Islay. It’s much closer to a Kilchoman or a (bourbon-matured) Bowmore than it is any of the big-hitters in the south, but that’s no bad thing. It’s maybe not quite on a par with the excellent Inaugural Release but it still feels like a really solid new addition to the portfolio of regularly available Islay malts.

Price: £55. Accessible enough that people will hopefully be tempted into giving it a go. Good enough that they’ll want to buy it again.

For more on Ardnahoe visit here

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