Ardnahoe Society 2024 release already impressive
Exclusive bottlings for members of a (most times) free admittance (fan) club of a distillery. There are many examples of companies doing it like this. Most well-known are probably the Springbank Society and the Ardbeg Committee. New Islay distillery Ardnahoe joined too with the quite straightforward name “Ardnahoe Society”. Their first ever release landed on our doorstep just shy of a week after ordering, so we could crack open a bottle and provide you with some impressions.
Ardnahoe had quite the year in 2024. Most importantly, eagerly waiting fans of Islay single malt could finally taste a few products, first and foremost the Inaugural Release. After that, distillery manager Fraser Hughes decided to move on to a new challenge, with David Livingstone assuming the mantle straight after. More bottles came out, with the more limited Feis Ile and today’s Society expressions, but also the first core range: Infinite Loch. In last week’s newsletter we read that in the Spring of 2025 there will be another addition to the range: “It will bring a new twist to our peated spirit.” We cannot wait! In the meantime, a new tasting note from Long Pour Amour!
Ardnahoe Society 2024, 5 years old, bottled at 59,1 % abv
First things first: This age stated Ardnahoe matured for 5 years in ex-oloroso and PX-quarter casks. It is the first bottling for the Ardnahoe Society members. Impressive abv on this one!
Upon Sipping: I am expecting quite the ‘tour de force’ here. When you put your nose in the glass everything bursts out. Fierce peat. Fierce sherry. And this combined is as explosive as a Mentos in a Coca Cola bottle. The sweet vapours coming from a clear PX influence takes dominance after a few moments. Smoky chocolate is a thing now. Very vibrant whisky. I am reluctant to take a sip from this undiluted, but the sherry layers might protect me against too harsh alcohol.
Surprisingly, this Ardnahoe has a very bitter, dark, heavily peated start. It seems that the quarter casks mostly gave off beautiful wooded notes. I actually enjoy it neat (and I really don’t have a fetish for drinking high alcohol strength whisky). Fantastic chocolate note, and the peat beautifully integrated in the entire experience of it. I applaud Ardnahoe for putting an age statement on their bottle, but in all honesty: this single malt feels much more mature. Of course, the quarter cask maturation helps a lot, but I think it is also just the spirit that is ripe quickly.
Water seems to tame the cask influences and brings out a more maritime side of Ardnahoe. Freshly tarred freighter ship on the shore. Definitely also some barn notes. Like walking in wet grass, cows all around you, and not being sure if that is mud or droppings underneath your Wellies. Some smoked wood and dunnage warehouse finish off the aroma. This whisky keeps opening up, in classic characteristics, without feeling like a tired trick being done over and over again. The taste however stays a bit behind when diluted. A bit too much chocolate for me then.
Word to the Wise: It pays dividends to be a member of the Ardnahoe Society, if this is going to be the general quality they release. Very impressed. Not a pressure-cooked whisky at all, which I feared when reading it was partly matured in quarter casks. Superb stuff.
Score: 89 points.
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