Finally getting around to trying the first release from Islay's newest distillery! Not such an easy task in Australia, since there's no official importer or distributor down here, and it's been over six months since the inaugural single malt was released "globally"...
Islay's newest distillery debuted in April 2024 with 70,000 bottles of 5-year old whisky released at an ABV of 50% ABV. Pricing wasn't amazing at £70 in the UK, which would probably equate to something like $175 in Australia with our ridiculous taxes. Not great, not terrible. But it seems we're finally getting over those hype-heavy days of every new whisky distillery trying to shift 1,000 bottles of a 3-year old first release at $300 a bottle, at least in terms of Scotch whisky. Relatively new distilleries like Isle of Harris (Hearach whisky), Strathearn, and Lochlea, all followed in the reasonably-priced footsteps set by Ardnamurchan back in 2020 with their first single malt release. Despite being the first new Islay distillery since Kilchoman in 2005, Ardnahoe have taken the same approach here in 2024, and it's great to see - any local distribution issues aside. One key difference with Ardnahoe's inaugural release is the age statement, which at 5-years old would've been considered very unusual in the recent past. Not the age itself, mind you, but the actual age statement. These days many Scotch whisky distilleries aren't afraid to release a young whisky with a single digit age statement, it's still quite a rarity.
While Ardnahoe was the ninth Islay distillery to open, there's since been a tenth - although billed as a reopening, it's really an entirely new distillery with an old name; Port Ellen. The only original buildings remaining were the two warehouses and the old kiln, while everything else is brand-new, albeit designed to closely replicate the original. So there are now ten malt whisky distilleries operating on Islay, with an eleventh in the early stages of construction (Portintruan), and more in the planning stages. That'll make anyone who has visited Islay a little nervous, because this relatively small and quiet island doesn't have the infrastructure to support much of an increase in visitors, let alone residents and freight. There's been a major housing shortage on Islay for years now, there are still multiple single track roads that are in rough condition, and there are only two ferries and a small regional airport to provide transport between Islay and the mainland. The ferries are the most immediate problem, since even if both are operating normally, the entire island relies on them for heavy freight. 10-12 working malt whisky distilleries need a lot of deliveries, with malted barley, casks, and other incidentals being shipped across from the mainland, and bottles, casks, and/or tankers going back in the other direction. Only three of the current distilleries malt any of their own barley, only two distilleries source any of their grain from Islay, and Port Ellen Maltings is now focussed on owner Diageo's three Islay distilleries before they even consider supplying external customers, so the vast majority of the island's malted barley has to come from the mainland. At the other end of production there are only two bottling plants on Islay, found at Bruichladdich and Kilchoman, and both are small, while warehousing space is also relatively limited. Most of the spirit and/or whisky made on Islay is shipped to the mainland - using those two ferries - for maturation and/or bottling. Then you have to consider groceries, building supplies, residents, tourists, and everything else required for human life on a remote and relatively small island. Let's hope that Islay doesn't become a victim of it's own success!
Ardnahoe - Gaelic for "height of the hollow" - is owned by Hunter Laing, the Glasgow-based independent bottler behind smaller brands like Old Malt Cask and Scarabus. The distillery broke ground in late 2016 on the north-east coast of Islay between Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain, taking advantage of the same incredible views across the Sound of Islay to the "Paps" of Jura. The photo above was taken in late-2018 on my most recent visit, before the distillery had actually opened to visitors. It was still largely a construction site at the time, but production had started a few months earlier and I was able to take a quick look around, even lucky enough to taste some of their wash. The first cask was filled with spirit only a few weeks later, in early November 2018. Excitement levels around this distillery were high for three main reasons. Firstly, it was a new distillery on Islay, the first in 13-14 years. Secondly, legendary Islay distiller Jim McEwan was involved in setting up production. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly for us whisky geeks, they were using a more traditional piece of production equipment that had not been seen on Islay for a very long time. Worm tub condensers! The two relatively large copper pot stills at Ardnahoe have very long lyne arms running through the back wall of the still house to two wooden vats sitting out in the fresh air, containing coiled copper pipes submerged in cold water, which see the spirit vapours condensed back in to a liquid. Worm tubs give less copper contact than a more modern shell & tube condenser, meaning the resulting spirit is heavier and potentially more sulphurous. Worm tub condensers have not been used on Islay for a very long time, to the point where most of us will have never tasted an Islay whisky that was made in this way. Since this is a peated whisky it's unlikely the worm tubs will have as profound an effect on the whisky as they do with the likes of Mortlach or Craigellachie in Speyside, and the very long lyne arms at Ardnahoe - the longest in Scotland in fact - will partially counteract the worm tubs by adding more copper contact, but it'll still be very interesting to watch how this potentially heavier Islay whisky evolves over time. This could also be a factor in why they chose to wait until the spirit was 5-years old rather than the minimum age of 3-years before they released an official bottling, since heavier spirits will generally take longer to mature than their lighter counterparts.
Aside from those worm tubs, this whisky is largely your typical peated Islay malt. The malted barley is sourced from the mainland and is mostly heavily-peated to around 40 ppm, although there are plans for both lower & higher peating levels in future. There's no official word on where the peat and/or malted barley was sourced from, but since Jim McEwan was involved I'd assume it was Bairds Maltings in Inverness, which means peat from the mainland. Fermentation takes place in wooden washbacks, and runs for 65-70 hours. Distillation is slow but relatively standard aside from the lyne arms and condensers, with most spirit filled into either first-fill bourbon or first-fill Oloroso sherry casks. Only a small portion of those casks stay on Islay though, with the majority of spirit sent to the mainland for maturation and bottling. All Ardnahoe single malt produced is non-chill filtered and natural colour.
This inaugural release 5-year old was peated to 40 ppm and has been matured in both ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, prior to bottling at 50% ABV. The distillery has recently announced a second release, a core range bottling named "Infinite Loch", which on paper seems very similar to the first release that we're looking at here, but without the age statement and with a slightly lighter colour. That could mean younger liquid or more ex-bourbon casks were used in comparison to this inaugural bottling, or it could mean nothing. I have to admit that the packaging & labelling on this inaugural release are quite attractive, although details are a little scarce. The sample for this review came from a generous whisky friend. Let's see how it goes!
Ardnahoe Inaugural Release, 5-years old, 50% ABV. Islay, Scotland.
Peated to 40 ppm, matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 70,000 bottles.
Colour: Amber.
Nose: Definitely Islay. Cold fatty smoked bacon, sweetened lemon & lime juices, smoked oily fish. Tar & ashy peat smoke. Quite heavy peatiness in fact, very Laphroaig or Ardbeg in style with the sweetness to match some of their contemporary bottlings. And despite being the same age, we're miles above Wee Beastie here! Black pepper, slightly herbal, fresh green olives in oil. With more time candied lemon & orange peels, and sweet malted barley.
Texture: Medium weight. Peaty, coastal, smoky, still oily but a bit less-so than the nose suggested. Very slight heat but great maturity for the age.
Taste: Thick, chewy, powerful peatiness, a chunky, dry & vegetal peat. Ashy smoke underneath, with a bit of dying beachside bonfire for good measure. Spicy & fruity green chillies, candied lemon & orange peels, and a bit of that oily green olive. A bit "simpler" on the palate than on the nose perhaps, but this is a 5-year old first release!
Finish: Short-medium length. Still quite oily & peaty, but that fades a little with sweet orchard fruits & malted barley with more lemon peels coming through. An icing sugar sweetness, and a bit of vanilla custard underneath.
Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Notes: Very much southern Islay style, despite the assumed use of mainland peat. There's something very Ardbeg to Ardnahoe's first release, but we're adding a dash of a sweeter Laphroaig and a dash of Port Charlotte from the early days - as in the dirtier, heavier style of Port Charlotte that doesn't show up much anymore. This is a sweet, peaty & oily Islay whisky, which is great, but I can't say that it sits head & shoulders above any of those produced on the island. Or even that it stands out from any of them, despite being a new Islay distillery with some unique features on paper. But for a young 5-year old malt and for a first release, that's nothing to complain about. I'm sure we'll see Ardnahoe further differentiating itself from its neighbours in future, hopefully with a more spirit-driven style so we can more clearly see what those worm tubs are bringing to the table. Or maybe, like some other (less peaty) worm tub employers, that will be more clearly evident when there are some sherry casks involved. Time will tell!
Since writing this review it's been announced that an Australian subscription service is getting the entire first allocation of Ardnahoe's Inaugural Release, imported directly from Scotland, and there's no further word on a local importer or distributor. Which is a shame, because as mentioned above the distillery's second official release has already been announced in the UK & Europe. As usual, all we can do down here is hurry up & wait!
Cheers!