Tasting rare Ardnahoe releases for Feis Ile 2026
The ninth distillery on Islay has taken its rightful place between the other facilities, with quite a few impressive releases already. Even though Feis Ile bottlings of the distillery sell out like they are Harry Styles concert tickets, we still manage to get our hands on some special releases! We enjoy drinking a good peated dram, while we see Ardnahoe progress through the years, with 7 years old releases coming over the horizon. In the meantime, we lost track of new bottlings, since Ardnahoe releases a slew of small batches and single casks targeted at specific markets. Luckily, there is also the Ardnahoe Appreciation Society (not to be confused with the Ardnahoe Society, of which we will taste an expression below). For this group of people on Facebook, a single cask was bottled as well. We managed to pick up our own bottles just in time to include the tasting notes today.
While we celebrate the whisky from Ardnahoe, from this place also a heartfelt congratulations to Portintruan and Laggan Bay distilleries. If I am not mistaken, the former has yet to start production, but Laggan Bay filled their first cask on 2nd April of this year. LPA hopes to visit both distilleries in January 2027. Keep an eye out!
Ardnahoe 2019, 6 years old, bottled at 59,4 % abv for the Appreciation Society
First things first: Distilled in June 2019 and bottled in February 2026 for the Ardnahoe Distillery Appreciation Society. This Ardnahoe matured in oloroso quarter cask # 76 and produced 167 bottles for true fans of the distillery.
Upon Sipping: A word of thanks to superfan Martin Brendel who organised this bottling. It is love at first sight when you stick your nose in this glass. Smells like Islay classic malt. Like walking through a peated forest. Lovely, muddy peat, the whole farm, lots of brine and a good hint of sea breeze to keep this whisky upbeat. Dark, smoky chocolate. In general, I am not the biggest fan of quarter casks, but on the nose this Ardnahoe scores full marks. Taking a sip, you are greeted by the enormous power of the Islay peat punch, almost volcanic in nature, but extremely drinkable at this high strength. The wood impact is now felt – that is me getting karma for speaking appreciative words about a quarter cask. This is borderline, but it works. With a dash of water, we manage to release some sherried notes that were well hidden until now. After the water has settled and merged with the whisky, it turns more farmy. Dry cow dung in the sun. The taste has sweetened, and the flavours now approach a deep chocolate style, covered in peat ashes, smoked plums and pronounced wood.
Word to the Wise: Like I said, this is borderline material for how far you can push maturation in an oloroso quarter cask. It has reached a form of perfection beyond which it should not move much further, at the risk of turning this Islay malt into peated liquid wood. As it stands, this is delicious. The score is 89 points, but I add one point for Martin’s efforts to get this magnificent cask into glass and onwards to Ardnahoe fans.
Score: 90 points.
Ardnahoe Society 2025, 5 years old, bottled at 61,1 % abv
First things first: Fully matured in a combination of Oloroso, PX and bourbon quarter casks, bottled at natural cask strength with no artificial colouring and no chill-filtration.
Upon Sipping: The first Ardnahoe Society released in 2024 made us very happy. Let us see what happens here with the follow-up to that release. Quite a mellow nose when I first stick my nose in the glass. Relaxed on minty liquorice and soft, salted chocolate. After leaving the glass alone for a while, we pick up a beautiful peated barley note, mixed with a barbecue meat note. On the palate, the arrival is rather sharp, but pleasantly sweetened by sherry. A chocolaty note takes over on the next sip. Sweet peat. What I (always) like about Ardnahoe is that the balance is always impeccably achieved. With water, this Ardnahoe Society 2025 reveals a more farmy note. An Islay farm, are we now closer to Kilchoman? The sweetness increased on the palate as well. Remarkable balance.
Word to the Wise: Powerful display of potential, which we can almost say has already been achieved. Young Islay whisky is hard to beat, and this Ardnahoe Society 2025 brings peak performance. No bad influences from quarter casks, which can feel a bit pressure cooked at times. This Ardnahoe is immune to it.
Score: 88 points.