Ardnahoe Society Bottling 2024

@ardnahoe Distillery have released their first Society Bottling - sign up for free on their website and you're a member!

Their first exclusive is a PX / Oloroso Quarter Cask mix!

Ardnahoe, which means ‘Height of the Hollow’ in Scottish Gaelic, has built in 2016 by Hunter Laing & Co. (Stewart Laing and sons Andrew and Scott). The first cask was filled in November 2018, I visited in 2022, it's a very picturesque distillery.

Distillery notes:

This limited expression of Ardnahoe Islay Single Malt, bottled exclusively for members of the Ardnahoe Society, has been aged for 5 years and fully matured in a combination of ex-Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry quarter casks.

This release has been bottled at its natural cask strength of 59.1% ABV, without artificial colouring or chill-filtration.

Dripping with decadent sherry cask character – you can expect dark chocolate with a raisin sweetness against a background of honeyed maltiness and distinctly maritime Islay peat smoke.

 

My thoughts:

Appearance: Dark gold in the glass, swirls leave thin lines which bead up slowly and fall as slow thin oily legs. 

Nose: initially very reminiscent of the Inaugural Release: gentle peat smoke: smoked bacon, bonfire ashes, old leather and a little smoked fish, then the dried fruit and berries kick in! The Quarter Casks have done the business here: plums, dates, figs, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries.

Palate: thick syrupy sweet arrival - mouthcoating. The sweetness from the nose comes through in berries, plums and dates - drizzled in honey. There's a little dry ginger spice, some salinity and some chocolate limes. The smoke is there in the background - not overpowering. Some tropical fruit and citrus fights to get out from the berry and dried fruit notes. 

 

Finish: medium length berries, tropical fruit, gentle spice and faint smoke notes.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed the Inaugural, perfectly balanced and a lovely fix of bourbon and sherry. This one does away with the bourbon and pushes you straight into PX and Oloroso. It's not a sherry bomb though - the liquid has been left in the Quarter Casks for just the right amount of time to influence but not overpower. Yummy!