Islay whisky maker Ardnahoe sits on a hillside along the northeast shores of this famous whisky island off the west coast of Scotland, its distillery and visitor center offering spectacular views across the Sound of Islay to the isle of Jura. Owned by the Glasgow-based independent bottler Hunter Laing, Ardnahoe filled its first cask in 2018 and officially opened for visitors in 2019. In these ensuing years, those visitors have only been able to enjoy tastings of other whiskies in the Hunter Laing portfolio as Ardnahoe’s whisky matured in the warehouses. Now the wait is over, with this week’s unveiling of Ardnahoe Inaugural Release, a limited 5 year old single malt.
Ardnahoe Inaugural Release is the first new whisky from a new distillery on Islay in 15 years—since Kilchoman launched its inaugural offering back in 2009. Matured in a combination of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, it’s bottled at 50% ABV. It goes on sale this coming Friday, May 10 and will be available at the distillery (ardnahoedistillery.com) and retail in the UK and other global markets, priced at £70 ($88). It won’t hit shelves in the U.S. until this fall.
Hunter Laing was started in 2013 by Fred Laing as an offshoot of Douglas Laing & Co., the company founded in 1948 by his father, Fred Douglas Laing. His two sons, Fred and Stewart, managed their father’s company together from the 1980s until 2013, when they split the assets and the brands. In the aftermath, Fred carried on as head of Douglas Laing, while Stewart formed Hunter Laing. Stewart, who first learned how to make whisky on Islay, has long harbored the dream of starting a distillery, which led to the creation of Ardnahoe. Today he runs Hunter Laing with his sons Andrew and Scott.
The initial news of the Ardnahoe project stirred great excitement among Islay whisky fans, particularly when Jim McKewan, renowned for his roles at Bowmore and later Bruichladdich, was brought on as production director in 2017. Later Fraser Hughes took the helm as head of production and remains in that role today.
Despite being famous for its smoky whiskies, Islay was a very sleepy place in the 20th century—Kilchoman, which began production in 2005, was the first new distillery to be built on the island since 1908. But over the past decade or so, the place has been abuzz with new distillery openings—and reopenings, as in the case of Port Ellen Distillery, which restarted production earlier this year after being shuttered for more than 30 years. London-based Elixir Distillers Group is building Portintruan Distillery, slated to open next year, while Ian MacLeod Ltd. is in the planning stages for the new Laggan Bay Distillery. Last October, Chivas Brothers announced its plan to build a distillery on Islay.
