Description
The Ardnahoe 6 Years Chairman’s Selection is a powerful and limited edition from the young but already highly regarded Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay. This special bottling was composed according to the vision of founder and Chairman Stewart Laing and shows Ardnahoe from perhaps its most intense side to date.
The crossover character of this bottling is particularly exciting: For the Chairman’s Selection, the previously known Ardnahoe spirit at 40 ppm was combined with a super heavily peated spirit at 160 ppm. This creates a particularly powerful, smoky and complex Islay Single Malt that significantly intensifies the classic Ardnahoe style without losing its maritime elegance.
For this limited edition, the whisky matured for six years in selected Sherry and Bourbon casks. The combination of powerful Islay peat smoke, maritime freshness, sweet maltiness and darker Sherry notes makes the Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection particularly exciting. It was bottled at natural cask strength at 60.2% ABV and therefore offers an intense, unaltered tasting experience.
On the nose, dense peat smoke leads with coastal salt, cocoa and maritime spice. On the palate, the whisky is powerful and deep: earthy smoke, lemon curd, honeyed malt, stewed plums and a beautiful cask spice combine to create an expressive Islay dram. The finish is long, dry and smoky, with ash, black pepper and a hint of salted toffee.
The Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection is a whisky for lovers of intense, smoky Islay Single Malts at cask strength. At the same time, it shows the balance and elegance that already make Ardnahoe so exciting despite its youth. Whether there will be a Chairman’s Selection every year in the future remains to be seen, making this first limited edition all the more exciting for collectors, Islay fans and everyone closely following the development of this new distillery.
Tasting Notes
Aroma: Peat smoke, coastal salt, cocoa, maritime spice and dark sweetness
Taste: Earthy smoke, lemon curd, honeyed malt, stewed plums, Sherry spice and powerful peat
Finish: Long, dry, smoky and ashy, with black pepper and salted toffee