Ardnahoe 5 Years Old 2020

Islay’s latest distillery (until the next one) sprang into life in October 2018 and is situated at the northern end of the island, near Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila. The dream project of the Hunter Laing group, headed by Stewart Laing and his two sons. To assist their vision, they brought in Jim McEwan, formerly of Bruichladdich, to design the stills and help create the distillate. Of particular note are the longest lyne arms in Scotch whisky that help combat the heaviness of the spirit, thanks to the use of worm tubs; the only ones on Islay, currently. The style of whisky is unsurprisingly peated, to a level of 40ppm and is hugely promising. Thanks partially to a fermentation time of around 70 hours. Most of the casks are matured on the mainland although some are kept on Islay, however space is limited. Hopefully, we don’t have to wait too much longer for the debut release from Ardnahoe.