It’s About Dram Time!
Ardnahoe has finally released their very first whisky and so far it’s been receiving so much positive attention!!
On Friday, 10th of May, Ardnahoe hosted several events in London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh to celebrate the launch of their very first release!! Now, I’ve been to visit Ardnahoe on Islay but this was the very first time that I’ve been able to taste THEIR whisky!! As I live in Edinburgh, I snuck out of work a bit early to visit the whisky retailer located on appropriately based luxury walk called Multrees.
Stuart Laing, co-founder of Ardnahoe, was there signing bottles as his helpers unboxed bottles and handed him the pens to sign them.
In the meanwhile, I received a full pour into a tiny wee cup to taste!
As this is an Islay whisky, it lived up to expectations being a sweet peated dram!! I won’t spend too much time talking about tasting notes (spoiler: this was in a blind tasting in the upcoming week!) but just wanted to hit home at a few top notes- some funk (while some hate funk, I love it- it gives a dram a bit of complexity), cinnamon (really, really cinnamononony!! almost bordering on a candy cane), and a zesty but salty finish. It didn’t disappoint!
While I chose not to ask Stuart how many bottles were created for this 5-year beaut, I was very curious about the ABV (50%!) and the price. Stuart said it just made sense at 50%. Give it to the expert- it was best at that alcohol level. I can’t disagree. I tend to prefer my whiskies on the high alcohol side. If it’s too low, sometimes the flavours can be really diluted. But, this one packs a punch and has a nice long finish. On the whole, it’s quite a surprisingly nice dram!
The price… is £70 worth it? I think that’s a very individual question. Generally, inaugural releases are not priced that high. Knowing of other new releases- Bonnington, Arran, Hearach (Harris), etc., it certainly believes in itself! The good thing is Ardnahoe is in bars all over the city so go ahead and have a dram for yourself. Do YOU think it’s worth the price?