Review | Ardbeg Spectacular

Each year the Islay distillery of Ardbeg releases an annual Fèis Ìle bottling for Ardbeg Day - this day at the beginning of June marks the end of the festival on the famous whisky island of Islay. Ardbeg Spectacular represents the first single malt from the distillery to feature maturation in ex-Port casks. It is a marriage of traditional ex-bourbon cask Ardbeg and spirit matured fully in ex-Port barrels and has been created by Gillian Macdonald, the Master Blender for Ardbeg. Ardbeg Spectacular is released at 46% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. 

Review | Ardnahoe Inaugural Release 5 years old

The Ardnahoe Inaugural Release 5 years old is the first ever bottling from the Islay distillery, which is owned by renowned independent bottlers Hunter Laing & Co. It is the first new whisky from a new distillery on Islay since Kilchoman released their first bottling back in 2009. Ardnahoe translates as 'height of the hollow' from Scots Gaelic and sits on the rugged northeastern coast of Islay. They make a mid-range peated style of spirit. 

Review | Bruichladdich 30 years old

The Bruichladdich 30 years old is a new permanent addition to the core range of the Islay distillery of Bruichladdich. It was launched simultaneously with another rare single malt, the Bruichladdich 18 years old, which will also be a permanent core expression. They are the first permanent whiskies of such age to sit in the range and form part of a new premium sub-range named Luxury Redefined. The 30 years old is one of the oldest bottlings ever released by the distillery.

Review | Bruichladdich 18 years old

The Bruichladdich 18 years old is a new permanent addition to the core range of the Islay distillery of Bruichladdich. It was launched simultaneously with another rare single malt, the Bruichladdich 30 years old, which will also be a permanent core expression. They are the first permanent whiskies of such age to sit in the range and form part of a new premium sub-range named Luxury Redefined. 

The Bruichladdich 18 years old features whisky made from the first crop of Islay barley distilled at Bruichladdich in 2004. The majority has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels with a small percentage of whisky added that has seen maturation in ex-Sauternes wine and ex-Port casks. All casks have been aged in warehouses on Islay. It is released at 50% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. A bottle will cost £150. 

Review | Port Askaig 8 years old & 17 years old

These two single malt whiskies form part of the recently-revamped core range from Islay single malt brand of Port Askaig, which is owned by Elixir Distillers. There are three new whiskies in total, which come with the new tagline of The Gateway to Islay. 

The range kicks off with the core Port Askaig 8 years old and this features an intricate marriage of cask types. Initial maturation is in ex-bourbon casks with an extended five year finish in a selection of ex-bourbon and toasted American oak barrels, plus ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry butts and re-fill hogsheads.

Review / Smokehead Twisted Stout

Smokehead is an innovative Islay single malt whisky brand owned by Iain Macleod Distillers. The Smokehead Twisted Stout, as the name suggests, has been part-matured in ex-stout beer barrels. It will be available from www.smokehead.com and specialist whisky retailers worldwide. It joins the core range products of Smokehead, High Voltage, Rum Rebel, Sherry Bomb and Terminado. The Smokehead Twisted Stout is bottled at 43% ABV and will cost £50 a bottle. 

Review / Ardbeg Heavy Vapours (Ardbeg Day Edition)

This is the annual Ardbeg Day release, which celebrates the final day of the Feis Ile festival on the famous whisky island of Islay, from the cult distillery of Ardbeg. Ardbeg Heavy Vapours is the result of an experiment conducted by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Whisky Creation at Ardbeg, several years ago. For the first time ever at Ardbeg its whisky was distilled without a purifier – the apparatus on the still responsible for maintaining balance between extreme peat and floral fruitiness at the distillery. This allows the heaviest alcohol vapours to rise up the still to be condensed back to a spirit. 

Review / Caol Ila 13 years old Fèis Ìle 2023 Edition

This whisky is the annual limited edition bottling for the Fèis Ìle festival from the Islay distillery of Caol Ila. The Caol Ila Fèis Ìle 2023 Edition is released at 13 years old and has been matured in ex-Oloroso and ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry seasoned casks. These casks were selected by Sam Hale, the Distillery Manager at Caol Ila, and his warehouse team. It is bottled at the natural cask strength of 60.4% ABV and will cost £185. The new whisky will only be available at the distillery visitor centre until sold out. It was released to celebrate the Caol Ila open day on Monday, May 29. The exact number of bottles was not revealed in the press release.

Review / Kilchoman Loch Gorm (2023 Edition)

This whisky is the latest in the annual Loch Gorm limited edition bottling from the family-owned Islay farm distillery of Kilchoman. As with each of the previous editions of Loch Gorm, the 2023 Edition is matured entirely in ex-Oloroso sherry casks and remains the only such bottling by Kilchoman. The 2023 Edition is a vatting of just 22 casks - these were originally sourced from Spain and then hand selected by Anthony Wills, the founder of Kilchoman. Eight of these were distilled and filled in 2013, six in 2014 and the other eight in 2015. The combination of casks has created a batch of 18,000 bottles. 

Review / Laphroaig 10 years old Sherry Oak Finish

The Sherry Oak Finish is a recent addition to the core range of the famous Islay single malt of Laphroaig. It was introduced in mid-2021. The whisky follows the same maturation path as the classic Laphroaig 10 years old, the best seller within the range, for most of its life. This takes place in American oak ex-bourbon casks. For the final 12 to 18 months the whisky is transferred to ex-Oloroso sherry barrels. The Laphroaig 10 years old Sherry Oak Finish is bottled at a higher strength of 48% ABV than the classic 10 years old. It is also a higher price (you should expect to pay around £60 for a bottle) and can be found through specialist retailers worldwide.

Review / Kilchoman 100% Islay (2022 Edition)

This new whisky hails from the family-owned farm distillery of Kilchoman, which is on the famous whisky island of Islay. It is the 12th edition of their award-winning annual 100% Islay bottling, which uses barley grown on the family farm and local water from a nearby loch. This is then distilled, matured and bottled at the distillery. The new limited edition has been created from 35 casks - 29 ex-bourbon barrels and 6 ex-Oloroso sherry butts. The whiskies were all distilled in 2011, 2012 or 2013 and matured for a minimum of 8 years. Each cask was selected for the bottling by Kilchoman's founder Anthony Wills.

Review / Ardbeg Hypernova

This new whisky is the latest limited edition exclusive from Islay distillery of Ardbeg. The Ardbeg Hypernova is pitched as the smokiest Ardbeg single malt ever and is only available to Ardbeg Committee members. The new whisky is an evolution of previous cult classic Supernova and shows peat levels in excess of 170ppm (phenol parts per million). This is over three times above the regular level of Ardbeg spirit. The Ardbeg Hypernova is bottled at 51% ABV and will be available in limited numbers from the Ardbeg Committee part of the Ardbeg website and Ardbeg Embassies around the world. Membership to the Committee is free and open to all Ardbeg fans or peaty whisky drinkers. A bottle will cost £190. 

Review / Lagavulin 7 years old & 14 years old Islay Jazz Festival Editions 2022

The Islay distillery of Lagavulin celebrates its continuing sponsorship of the Hebridean island's jazz festival with this pair of limited edition releases. It is the first time that two whiskies have been released for the annual event, which was held between October 7 and 9 this year. One is exclusively on sale at the distillery and the other to a wider audience. 

Review / Ardbeg Ardcore (Ardbeg Day Edition)

This new whisky is the annual Ardbeg Day bottling for the Feis Ile festival on the famous whisky island of Islay. The 2022 offering is named Ardcore and has been inspired by punk rock music. The whisky has been produced using rare black malt, which is a first for Ardbeg, and takes the spirit in a dark, fiery and feisty direction. Ardbeg Ardcore has been developed by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Head of Distilling & Whisky Creation at Ardbeg. The whisky was officially released on Ardbeg Day (June 4), which traditionally brings the Feis Ile festivities to an end. There will be two versions of Ardcore - a cask strength version for Ardbeg Committee members (50.1% ABV) and this Ardbeg Day Edition at 46% ABV. 

Review / Lagavulin Fèis Ìle 2022 Edition

Today is Lagavulin Day, the opening event at the annual Fèis Ìle festival on the famous whisky island of Islay. Each distillery on the island hosts a special day and release a limited edition whisky to celebrate. Lagavulin is always the first which makes this even more exciting. The Lagavulin Fèis Ìle 2022 Edition features casks selected by the distillery team including new Distillery Manager, Jordan Paisley. 

The whisky was initially matured in re-fill American oak ex-bourbon hogsheads, before being finished in virgin American oak barrels. It has been released at 12 years of age and there are just 6,336 bottles in the batch. It has been bottled at the natural cask strength of 57.7% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour.

Review / Ardbeg Fermutation (Committee Release)

This whisky is the latest Ardbeg Committee exclusive and limited edition release from the cult Islay distillery. Ardbeg Fermutation is the result of an accident at the distillery in 2008. The boiler broke down and threatened the contents of six washbacks of fermenting wash. With the wash unable to be collected at its normal fermentation time of 72 hours, it was left to continue fermenting until the boiler was fixed. This resulted in the wash being in the washbacks for three weeks - the longest in Ardbeg history and an unprecedented length of time for wash. The unplanned experiment was overseen by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Distilling & Whisky Creation at Ardbeg. 

Review / Gladstone Axe 'American Oak' & 'The Black Axe'

These two new whiskies are a pair of Scotch blended malts from wine and spirits company Biggar & Leith. The Gladstone Axe 'American Oak' and the Gladstone Axe 'The Black Axe' are designed to be 'a modern twist on classic Scotch' and are named after four-times UK Prime Minister William Gladstone. The brand and both blended malts have been created by Elwyn Gladstone, the founder of Biggar & Leith and the great great great grandson of William Gladstone. 

Review / Ardbeg 8 years old : For Discussion

This single malt whisky is the latest limited edition from the Islay-based distillery and will be exclusive to Ardbeg Committee members. The Ardbeg 8 years old : For Discussion is designed to get Committee members talking about the whisky and how it compares to other whiskies in the Ardbeg range. It has been created by Dr. Bill Lumsden, the Director of Distilling & Whisky Creation, and has been matured in ex-sherry casks. The aim was to temper the powerful smoke of the 8 year old spirit. The Ardbeg 8 years old : For Discussion is bottled at 50.8% ABV and is both natural colour and non chill-filtered. The Ardbeg Committee has over 100,000 members worldwide.

Review / Lagavulin 13 years old Feis Ile Edition

This whisky is one of two limited edition single malts from Diageo to celebrate this year's Feis Ile festival. The other is from Lagavulin's fellow Islay distillery of Caol Ila - read our review of that release here. This Lagavulin is a 13 years old expression and this was initially matured in re-fill American oak casks, before being transferred to high char ex-Port barrels for a finishing period. These were selected by Pierrick Guilaume, the Distillery Manager at Lagavulin. There are 6,000 bottles and the whisky is released at the natural cask strength of 54.4% ABV. Each bottle will cost £160. Both whiskies will be available exclusively from the Lagavulin distillery shop and www.malts.com.

Review / Caol Ila 12 years old Feis Ile 2021 Edition

This whisky is the annual limited edition Feis Ile bottling from the Caol Ila distillery. It is joined by a 13 years old expression from Diageo's other Islay distillery of Lagavulin. This Caol Ila is bottled at 12 years of age and has been matured firstly in re-fill American oak casks before being transferred to ex-Moscatel wine casks for a finishing period. These casks were nurtured by Samuel Hale, the Distillery Manager at Caol Ila. The Caol Ila 12 years old Feis Ile 2021 Edition is released at the natural cask strength of 56.6% ABV. There are just 3,000 bottles and each will cost £130. Both whiskies are available via www.malts.com and the Lagavulin distillery shop.