It's Festival Season: New Scotch Whiskies From Islay and Campbeltown

Scotland welcomes thousands of whisky lovers to its distilleries this time of year. Between May and early June, many visitors take in the Campbeltown Malts Festival, held last week, and then travel on to Fèis Ìle, the Islay festival that's being held this week and wraps up on Saturday. To heighten the excitement, lots of new whiskies from Campbeltown and Islay are released in tandem with these events, though not all are festival exclusives. Attending the festivities in person is the best way of securing the rarest festival releases of course, but fortunately, many distilleries now ensure their festival bottlings and limited editions are released in the U.S. too. While the full ratings and tasting notes will appear in upcoming issues of Whisky Advocate, here are our first impressions of five of these new single malts.

Ardbeg Spectacular, 46%, $130

This year’s circus-themed Fèis Ìle release promises a spectacle of flavors thanks to the combination of classic bourbon cask-matured Ardbeg with a rare parcel of Ardbeg fully matured in port pipes. These casks were previously used at Glenmorangie Distillery as finishing casks for Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14 year old.

What Does Ardbeg Spectacular Taste Like?

The nose conjures up aromas of a Black Forest gateau dropped into a peat fire: damson, pomegranate, and cherry, vibrantly rich and chocolaty peat smoke, a hint of leather, and sea breeze and lavender soap. Rounded and oily on the palate with cherry soda, watermelon, cherry truffles, red gummies, and peppery smoke, slowly yielding to salty, cool menthol and chocolate mint flavors, with a finale of peat smoke, melted milk chocolate, and lingering cherry notes.

Ardnahoe Inaugural Release 5 year old, 50%, approximately $88

The first-ever single malt from Hunter Laing’s Islay distillery is already proving to be one of the most talked about Islay whiskies of the year. Released in the UK and other markets in time for Fèis Ìle, the Ardnahoe debut, a peated whisky matured in bourbon and oloroso casks, will be heading to stores in the U.S. this fall. This is the first whisky from a new Islay distillery in 15 years, so it’s worth checking with your retailer at an early stage to express your interest in securing a bottle.

What Does Ardnahoe Inaugural Release 5 year old Taste Like?

Seaweed, rock pools, and bold peat smoke are balanced with aromas of honey, orchard fruits, vanilla biscuits, and a few floral top notes. An incredible explosion of flavor on the first sip with marmalade, heather honey, chopped peel, dark fruit, sooty smoke, sherry trifle, and cinnamon sugar. It’s well-rounded without seeming youthful, showing baking chocolate and a greater smoke presence rolling into a finish atop waves of sherry fruit. Quite a debut.

Glen Scotia 9 year old Campbeltown Malts Festival 2024, 56.2%, $85

Each year, Glen Scotia makes a point of celebrating its heritage with a new cask strength festival release, made in sufficient quantities to bring to U.S. stores. This year, master distiller Iain McAlister selected a bourbon barrel-matured single malt to finish in unpeated fino sherry casks for a minimum of six months, showcasing the distillery’s signature salted caramel notes encased in classic fino sherry flavors.

What Does Glen Scotia 9 year old Campbeltown Malts Festival 2024 Taste Like?

Lemon, lime, and dry crisp sherry on the nose, with green apple, almond oil, light peppery spices, and salty maritime notes. The palate offers green apple, salted caramel, vanilla, ginger, and lemon peel. Water adds sweeter lemon, lime, pear, apple, and layers of creaminess to the salted caramel. Vanilla, caramel sweetness, and lingering salinity on the finish. Worth experimenting with water to find that sweet spot.

Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2024 Edition, 46%, $120

Kilchoman is bringing out three new 2024 releases, including fresh versions of Batch Strength, Sauternes Cask Matured, and of course, Loch Gorm, its single malt matured in oloroso sherry butts previously used by Bodega Jose y Miguel Martin. Anthony Wills, the distillery’s founder, selected a balance of 17 fresh and 6 refill casks from three different distillation years, with the youngest whisky in the bottle aged for 9 years.

What Does Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2024 Taste Like?

Wave after wave of smoky marmalade on the nose, with a peaty edge to the smoke, it’s well integrated with aromas of sanded oak, black cherry, and milk chocolate. Plenty of complexity on the palate with chocolate-covered sultanas, cherry, dried fruits, citrus peel, peat smoke, and singed oak. It dissolves into flavors of cinnamon-sugared nuts, blackberry, and cappuccino. It stays delicious through to the finish, with long-lasting notes reverberating around its core flavors of peat, pepper, and peel.

Port Askaig 17 year old, 50.5%, $190

Elixir Distillers is currently building Portintruan Distillery on Islay, but while its inaugural release is still a few years away, they have released new batches of sourced whisky; Port Askaig Cask Strength, 8 year old, and 17 year old. The oldest of the three is matured in American oak, and delivers a truly classic Islay flavor experience.

What Does Port Askaig 17 year old Taste Like?

The nose has lemon, pine needles, beautifully pure peat smoke, brine-soaked green olives, lemongrass, and kimchi. The palate is layered with lemon meringue pie, lime zest, and an underlying lemon creaminess, honey, salt crystals, ginger, olive oil, breezy maritime notes, brine, and tarragon, with a finish of creamy lemon and billowing peat smoke. The higher ABV punches cleanly through: Don’t spoil it by adding water.