Ardnahoe New Make

One aspect I appreciate about Dramfest is the opportunity to converse with distillers and occasionally sample new make spirit. I admire the work Hunter Laing does with their bottlings, and I was quite eager to try their distillate when I learned they had opened an Islay distillery. It's a rare family-owned distillery, and the first to open on Islay since Kilchoman in 2005. Every element of their setup is top-tier. It features Oregon pine fermenters, two lantern-shaped pot stills (a 13,000-liter wash still and an 11,000-liter spirit still), seemingly the longest lyne arm in Scotland, and worm tub condensers. The distillate is produced from malt peated to 40-45 PPM using Port Ellen Maltings and undergoes a long, slow fermentation of about 72 hours. Jim McEwan came out of retirement to consult on the project, joking that finding the cut point in the spirit was as challenging as giving birth. I'm also very enthusiastic about their variety of cask finishes... their diversity reminds me of Benriach. They primarily use about 70% first-fill bourbon barrels; then around 20-25% first-fill ex-oloroso hogsheads and some butts. However, they also utilize other wine casks, such as Port, Madeira, Muscat, Rioja, and some rum (they produce the Kill Devil range), so I'm anticipating potentially great wine and port cask finishes. Anyway, the new make was fantastic – very biscuity, fruity, and smoky. I sincerely hope they have excellent casks to do it justice.