Ardnahoe Distillery
Islay’s newest distillery, an independent, peated malt made with worm tubs above Loch Ardnahoe.
Ardnahoe is Islay’s newest distillery, an independently owned, heavily peated single malt made with worm tubs above Loch Ardnahoe. Here is who owns it, how it is made, the range, the history and how to visit.
At a glance
House style & flavour profile
Young, smoky and sweet, with oak and a hint of sherry.
Peat smoke, vanilla, citrus and sea air. Smoke and sweet malt, with oak spice and a little dried fruit.
Medium to long, smoky and warming.
Visiting the distillery
The distillery is on the hillside above Loch Ardnahoe, a short drive from Port Askaig, Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain. Islay is reached by ferry from Kennacraig or by air from Glasgow. Book ahead in summer and during the Fèis Ìle festival in late May.
History
The full guide to Ardnahoe Distillery
Ardnahoe is the newest working distillery on Islay, and one of the most closely watched. It was built by the independent bottler Hunter Laing on the north-east coast of the island, near the ferry port of Port Askaig, and it started distilling in 2018. Its first single malt, a five year old, arrived in 2024. If you want to see how a modern, independently owned Islay distillery is shaping up, this is the place to watch.
Who owns Ardnahoe?
Ardnahoe is owned by Hunter Laing & Co, a family-run independent bottler based in Glasgow. The company was founded in 2013 by Stewart Laing and his family, after they left Douglas Laing & Co, and it is best known for bottling whisky from other distilleries. Ardnahoe is its first distillery, and it is one of the few Scotch distilleries still owned by an independent family business, along with Kilchoman.
For the wider picture of which company owns which whisky, see our guide to who owns what in whisky, and for the independent bottlers, our guide to independent bottlers.
The history of Ardnahoe Distillery
The plan took shape in the mid-2010s, when Hunter Laing picked a site beside Loch Ardnahoe, high on a hill above the Sound of Islay. Building started in 2016, the first spirit ran in 2018, and the distillery opened to visitors in 2019. It was widely described as Islay’s ninth working distillery at the time. The name comes from the loch, which also supplies the distillery’s water.
The long wait for the whisky is normal for a new distillery. Scotch must mature for at least three years, and the first release was a five year old. Ardnahoe Inaugural Release, bottled at 50% ABV, went on sale in May 2024 at around £70. To see where Ardnahoe sits among its neighbours, read the Islay whisky boom and our beginner’s guide to Islay whisky.
How Ardnahoe is made
Ardnahoe makes its whisky from peated malted barley, water and yeast. The malt is peated to around 40 ppm phenols, which is heavy, in the same range as Laphroaig. Our guide to how peat works in whisky explains what that number means.
The distillery has a single wash still and a single spirit still, and it condenses the spirit in traditional worm tubs, which are rare on Islay and tend to give a heavier, oilier new-make than modern condensers. The whisky is matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks. For the wider context, see how whisky is made.
What does a worm tub do?
A worm tub is a coil of copper pipe sitting in a tank of cold water, used to turn the spirit vapour back into liquid. Because it cools the vapour more slowly and leaves more contact with copper, it is said to give a fuller, meatier and sometimes sulphury spirit, with more weight than a modern shell-and-tube condenser. It is one reason Ardnahoe is described as an old-fashioned distillery in a new building.
The Ardnahoe range
The range is still very short, because the distillery is so young. What is available is:
- Inaugural Release 5 Year Old (50% ABV), the first official single malt, with smoke, sweetness and oak. See our note on age statements versus NAS.
- Single cask and limited releases, which are appearing more often as the stock gets older, often at cask strength. See our guide to cask strength whisky.
To get an idea of the neighbourhood, try our reviews of Caol Ila 12 and Bunnahabhain 12, the two distilleries closest to Ardnahoe, and Laphroaig 10 for a heavily peated comparison. Our Laphroaig vs Ardbeg vs Lagavulin comparison puts the big names side by side.
Visiting Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay
Ardnahoe is on the hillside above Loch Ardnahoe, a short drive from the ferry port of Port Askaig and from Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain, so it fits naturally into a day on the north-east coast. It is open to visitors through the year, and the site was built with visitors in mind, with views over the Sound of Islay and across to Jura. Islay is reached by ferry from Kennacraig or by a short flight from Glasgow. Check the distillery website for the current tour list and opening hours, and book ahead in summer and during the Fèis Ìle festival in late May.
Ardnahoe: quick answers
Who owns Ardnahoe?
Hunter Laing & Co, a family-run independent bottler from Glasgow, owns Ardnahoe.
Where is Ardnahoe made?
Ardnahoe is made on the north-east coast of the Isle of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland, near Port Askaig.
How do you pronounce Ardnahoe?
It is usually said as ard-na-HOH, with the stress on the last syllable.
Is Ardnahoe peated?
Yes. Ardnahoe is made from heavily peated malt, at around 40 ppm phenols.
When did Ardnahoe release its first whisky?
Its first official single malt, the Inaugural Release 5 Year Old, went on sale in May 2024.
Is Ardnahoe a single malt?
Yes. Ardnahoe is a single malt Scotch whisky, made from malted barley at a single distillery. See our single malt section for more.
Thomas Grønvold is the founder of Caskable and a whisky enthusiast who believes the best way to learn about whisky is simply to drink it, compare it, and stay curious. From supermarket favourites to bottles from distilleries around the world, he writes about what he actually tastes and experiences, without pretending you need to be an expert to enjoy a good dram.
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