Ardnahoe Distillery

Heritage attraction

Explorer Tom

Ardnahoe Distillery sits on Islay’s north-east coast with Loch Ardnahoe at its back and the Sound of Islay making a fine case for lingering at the windows. The Laing family began making spirit here in 2018, after decades in the whisky trade. It is a young neighbour on an island that takes its whisky seriously, and it has brought a rather good view to the conversation. Stewart Laing and his sons Andrew and Scott formed Hunter Laing & Company in 2013, then chose this lochside ground for their own distillery in 2015. Building began late the next year. The first distillation ran in October 2018, and the first cask was filled on 9 November. If you came expecting centuries of moss on every barrel, Ardnahoe cheerfully offers the beginning of a story instead. The working distillery uses copper pot stills with notably long lyne arms and the island’s only worm tubs, which cool the vapour after distillation. The stillhouse looks across the Sound; the visitor tour explains how barley, water, yeast and peat become the spirit maturing in casks. I would happily claim that the view improves the whisky, but even Tom cannot prove that with a telescope. Let the people making it explain the craft. The operator offers bookable tours and tastings, with advance booking advised and age limits for the production tour. Check current times and prices before crossing Islay, and leave driving to someone who is not tasting; the operator offers take-away drams for drivers. Walk into the stillhouse for the machinery, and leave with a sharper eye for what is happening in every glass. The sea view is included, and thankfully requires no measuring jug.

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Map note: Ardnahoe Distillery is a heritage attraction near Bunnahabhain, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The name caught our eye; the map shows what else is nearby.

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