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The Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection is a limited edition Islay single malt Scotch whisky composed to the personal specifications of Stewart Laing, founder and chairman of Ardnahoe and Hunter Laing & Co, who died on 8 April 2026 aged 79. It is the most heavily peated Ardnahoe to date, matured predominantly in first-fill sherry casks for six years and bottled at natural cask strength of 60.2% ABV. Each bottle comes in a gift box with a personal letter written by Stewart. It costs £95 for a 70cl bottle and launches Thursday 18 June 2026, available from the Ardnahoe online shop and at the distillery.

The last whisky Stewart Laing composed carries his name and a letter written in his own hand. Ardnahoe’s Chairman’s Selection was built to the personal specifications of the distillery’s founder and chairman, who died in April this year at the age of 79. It is the most heavily peated Ardnahoe released to date, bottled at its natural cask strength of 60.2%.

A founder’s final selection is rarely a modest thing, and this one isn’t. Sherry-led, full strength, no age statement to hide behind: it reads as a man putting his palate on record one last time.

Who was Stewart Laing, and why this release matters

Stewart Hunter Laing spent more than 60 years in Scotch whisky. He began as a young man at the family blending firm Douglas Laing, with an early apprenticeship at Bruichladdich on Islay that left him with a lifelong attachment to the island. In 2013 he established Hunter Laing & Co with his sons Andrew and Scott, initially as an independent bottler, but he held onto one ambition: to own a distillery on Islay.

That ambition became Ardnahoe, Islay’s ninth distillery, which began production in 2018. Laing was inducted as a Master Keeper of the Quaich in 2022. One of the final milestones of his career came on 10 May 2024, when he spent a day in Edinburgh signing bottles of Ardnahoe’s Inaugural Release. He died on 8 April 2026, surrounded by his family.

That context is the whole point of this bottle. The Chairman’s Selection was composed to his specifications before his death, which makes it the last Ardnahoe to carry his direct hand. The personal letter in every box, sharing his reflections on the whisky and the Ardnahoe journey, turns the release into something closer to a signed final word than a standard limited edition.

Who is Ardnahoe

Ardnahoe sits on the north-east coast of Islay, between Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila, looking out across the Sound of Islay toward the Paps of Jura. It carves out its own identity through two production quirks that are unique on the island: the only worm tub condensers on Islay, and the longest lyne arms in Scotland at 7.5 metres. Both increase copper contact and the retention of heavier compounds, which gives the spirit weight and a creamy texture beneath the smoke. The barley is peated to 40ppm, in the medium-heavy band for Islay.

The Inaugural Release arrived in May 2024 as a five-year-old at 50% ABV. The Chairman’s Selection pushes harder on every front: a year more in cask, full cask strength, a sherry-led recipe, and the heaviest peat the distillery has bottled so far.

Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection tasting notes

These are the distillery’s official notes for the release.

Nose: Peat smoke up front, coastal salt, rich cacao 
Palate: Deeper, earthy, smouldering smoke alongside lemon curd, honeyed malt and stewed plums 
Finish: Long and drying, with ashy peat embers, cracked black pepper and a touch of salted toffee 
ABV: 60.2% (natural cask strength)
Cask type: Predominantly first-fill sherry, with bourbon
Age: 6 years | Price: £95

A drop of water is worth trying at this strength. At 60.2% the smoke carries hard on first pour; reduction should let the lemon curd, honeyed malt and the sherry-driven plum and cacao come forward.

What makes it different: sherry-led, fully peated, full strength

Three things set this apart from the Ardnahoe range so far.

First, the peat. The distillery calls this its most heavily peated release to date. For a distillery whose house spirit is already firmly in Islay smoke territory, that’s a deliberate dial-up rather than a side note.

Second, the casks. Where earlier Ardnahoe leaned on bourbon, the Chairman’s Selection is matured predominantly in first-fill sherry casks. First-fill sherry brings the most intense extract a sherry cask can give, which is where the stewed plums, cacao and salted toffee come from, layered over the peat rather than competing with it.

Third, the strength and the provenance. Bottled at 60.2% with no reduction, the cask’s full character is on display. And because the recipe was set to Stewart Laing’s own specifications, this is as close to a founder’s house style in a single bottle as Ardnahoe will produce. For anyone collecting the distillery from the start, an early, sherry-led, cask-strength bottling carrying the chairman’s name and letter is exactly the kind of release that becomes a reference point.

Price and availability

Price: £95 incl. UK VAT (£79.17 excl. VAT) 
Volume: 70cl 
ABV: 60.2% 
Presentation: Individual gift box with a personal letter from Stewart Laing 
On sale from: Thursday 18 June 2026 
Where: The Ardnahoe Distillery online shop and at the distillery

This is a limited edition, so quantities are finite, and a tribute bottling with a signed letter is the sort of release that moves quickly. It goes live on the distillery’s online shop and at Ardnahoe itself on 18 June. International buyers should check Ardnahoe’s shipping options for their country at checkout, and watch for the bottle reaching specialist retailers who carry Islay limited editions, as earlier Ardnahoe releases have tended to spread beyond the distillery.

At £95 for a six-year-old cask-strength single malt, this sits at the higher end for young Islay. The price reflects the limited run, the sherry-led cask-strength format and the presentation rather than the age on the label.

Our verdict

The Chairman’s Selection is for the Islay drinker who wants peat at full strength with serious first-fill sherry behind it, and who isn’t put off by youth. Heavily peated, six years old, cask strength, sherry-led: on paper it’s a focused, uncompromising young Islay rather than a gentle introduction.

It’s not the bottle for someone after a soft, lower-strength easy pour, or for a drinker who wants an age statement. And at £95 it asks real commitment for a six-year-old, so it leans toward the enthusiast and the collector. For those buyers, though, the combination of an early cask-strength Ardnahoe, a sherry-led recipe and a personal letter from the founder who built the place gives it a weight most limited editions don’t have.

If you’ve been tracking where Ardnahoe is heading, this is the most revealing and the most personal bottle they’ve put out.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection? It’s a limited edition Islay single malt Scotch whisky composed to the personal specifications of Ardnahoe founder and chairman Stewart Laing, who died in April 2026. Matured predominantly in first-fill sherry casks for six years and bottled at cask strength of 60.2% ABV, it is the most heavily peated Ardnahoe release to date.

Who was Stewart Laing? Stewart Hunter Laing was the founder and chairman of Ardnahoe Distillery and co-founder of independent bottler Hunter Laing & Co. He spent more than 60 years in Scotch whisky and fulfilled a long-held dream by opening Islay’s ninth distillery in 2018. He died on 8 April 2026, aged 79.

What does the Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection taste like? According to the distillery, the nose leads with peat smoke, coastal salt and rich cacao. The palate brings earthy, smouldering smoke with lemon curd, honeyed malt and stewed plums. The finish is long and drying, with ashy peat embers, cracked black pepper and salted toffee.

How much does the Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection cost? It costs £95 for a 70cl bottle including UK VAT (£79.17 excluding VAT). The price reflects its limited cask-strength run, the first-fill sherry maturation and the gift-box presentation with a personal letter from Stewart Laing.

Where can I buy the Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection? It launches Thursday 18 June 2026 from the Ardnahoe Distillery online shop and at the distillery itself. It’s a limited release, so stock is finite. International buyers should check the distillery’s shipping options at checkout, and it may also reach specialist Islay retailers.

Is the Ardnahoe Chairman’s Selection cask strength? Yes. It’s bottled at its natural cask strength of 60.2% ABV with no reduction. A few drops of water are worth trying to open up the sherry sweetness, as the peat smoke carries strongly at this proof.