Ardnahoe Distillery

Ardnahoe distillery represents a new chapter in Islay’s whisky history. Nestled between Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain distilleries on Islay’s rugged east coast, the Scottish family-owned and managed distillery is the newest in the iconic Scottish region — built 15 years after Kilchoman launched its inaugural release.

Stewart Laing and sons Andrew and Scott formed Hunter Laing & Co Ltd, an independent bottling company, in 2013 with a long-held dream to one day make their own whisky. The Laing family has a deep involvement in the whisky industry. In the 1940s, Stewart’s father founded his own independent bottling company. And Stewart has some 50 years of experience in the industry.

“Building our own distillery was a hugely important and long dreamed of step and it’s been a personal ambition of mine ever since I was posted to work on Islay at Bruichladdich back in the 1960s,” says Stewart.

“From finding the perfect piece of land on Islay for the distillery back in 2015 to now seeing our first whisky released, it’s truly the culmination of a lifelong dream for the Laing family.”

In 2016, the family acquired the site on the north of Islay. Construction began the following year and by 2019 Ardnahoe distillery was ready to open its doors to whisky lovers. In May 2024, the first Ardnahoe cask was bottled.

Whisky industry veteran Jim McEwan, arguably the best-known figure in Islay whisky — renowned for his instrumental involvement with Bowmore and Bruichladdich — was brought on as production director in 2017. He was followed by Fraser Hughes, who currently holds the role.

With a strong affinity for Islay and a reverence for its distinctive, peated malt whiskies, reviewers have remarked that Adnahoe distillery stands shoulder to shoulder with its Islay neighbours. The distillery has differentiated itself with its approach to whiskymaking, as the only one using worm tub condensers and Scotland’s longest lyne arms at 24.5 feet.

Since news of the distillery’s inception, Ardnahoe's inaugural whisky has been the most anticipated Scottish release in recent history.