Review by: Raygun

A group of us put together a little homemade Advent calendar. Been a while since Christmas, but life happens. I’m now in the midst of posting a few reviews from that collection. This one threw me for a loop. Clearly peated and tasted like Islay, but even though I briefly considered Ardnahoe, I thought it was too unlikely. Should have been more open to the unexpected. Ardnahoe is the newest distillery on Islay with a whisky for sale (for now). It was started by the Hunter Laing company as part of the trend of independent bottlers buying or building distilleries. They also lured Jim McEwan out of retirement to assist with design and head up production, which he did until he retired again in I believe 2021. That means this would have been produced under his watch. Reviewed fully blind from a sample. Rested about 15 minutes.

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Distillery: Ardnahoe  

Bottler: Ardnahoe 

Region/style: Islay single malt Scotch 

ABV: 50%.  

Age: Five years

Cask type: Bourbon and oloroso casks

Color: 1.2 chestnut. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Peated for sure. Smoked chocolate, pecan pie, and some earth.    

Palate: Strongly peated, though not Octomore level. Toasted clove, pecans, chocolate, pepper. Moderate sweetness and no real savory flavor. There’s some fruit here.  

Finish: Not too old, I think. Earthiness comes back. Lots of peat again. Pecan pie, chocolate. Touch of chalk.   

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Conclusion: The Islay DNA is clear. I eliminated Laphroaig, Ardbeg, and Bowmore right away. Didn’t taste like peated Bunna either. I considered Lagavulin and actually wrote down, “Unlikely to be Ardnahoe,” but in the end I guessed it was Port Charlotte. I suppose maybe a certain McEwan character came through. I did think it was a blend of bourbon and some kind of wine casks, though I suspected table wine rather than sherry. The sort of thing McEwan used to do at Bruichladdich. Thought it was young, but more like 10 years rather than 5. Pretty impressive for the age, and I expect it will continue to develop very nicely.

Score: 77

Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)