First release of the Ardnahoe Distillery to be launched

Petra Milde |

The inaugural release of the distillery on Islay is a five-year-old single malt whisky

 

With the release of the first self-produced whisky, Stewart Laing is fulfilling a lifelong dream: as an independent bottler, he has long been successful on the market with his company Hunter Laing with brands such as The Old Malt Cask and Scarabus , and since 2018 he has been running the Ardnahoe Distillery, the ninth whisky distillery on the Isle of Islay, with his sons Andrew and Scott.

The Laings have now proudly announced the release of the first Ardnahoe Single Malt whisky for tomorrow, 10 May 2024. The Ardnahoe Inaugural Release will also find its way to Germany and will soon be available in the Whisky.de online shop.

The starting point for whisky production at Ardnahoe is malt from Port Ellen Maltings with a phenol content of 40ppm, which suggests a distinctly smoky whisky. "With Islay peat smoke on the nose, custard, ginger, lemon zest and baked apples on the palate and a long, smoky finish, the Inaugural Release is a classic sophisticated Islay single malt," the press release promises.

The distillery draws its water from the nearby Loch Ardnahoe. A special feature of whisky production at Ardnahoe is the use of traditional wormtub condensers. The whisky for the inaugural release matured for five years in ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It was bottled without chill filtration in natural colour with an alcohol content of 50% vol.

 

Images via Hunter Laing, credits Ben Shakespeare

About the author Petra Milde

Petra Milde is a freelance author of books and specialist writing about spirits and food. She has been supporting the Whisky.de editorial team since 2015 and creates informative and entertaining articles in the news section.

Besides her writing work, she moderates tastings and can be met at spirits fairs, both behind the stands and in front of them, looking for new products and interesting people to talk to.

more