THEDAILYWHISKY

Ardnahoe has opened its first hand-fill cask, and it is not the bourbon-and-oloroso profile the distillery built its name on. Release No 1 is a 6-year-old Islay single malt matured in Pedro Ximénez quarter casks, bottled at cask strength, and available only if you turn up at the distillery on Islay and fill the bottle yourself.

It is a distillery-exclusive keepsake first and a whisky second, and that is precisely the point.

The key facts:

• Whisky: Ardnahoe Islay Single Malt, Hand-Fill Release No 1
• Age: 6 years
• Cask: Pedro Ximénez (PX) quarter casks
• ABV: 60.5% (cask strength)
• Bottle size: 700ml
• Price: £95
• Date bottled: 22 June 2026
• Availability: Ardnahoe Distillery Visitor Centre shop only, Isle of Islay
• Production: No artificial colouring, no chill-filtration

Why the PX quarter cask matters

Ardnahoe’s core spirit fills predominantly into bourbon casks, with around a quarter going into oloroso sherry. This hand-fill breaks from that. Pedro Ximénez is the sweeter, darker end of the sherry spectrum, all raisin, fig and treacle, and a full PX maturation on peated Islay spirit is a much richer proposition than the distillery’s bourbon-led house style.

The quarter cask is the other half of the story. A quarter cask holds roughly a quarter of the volume of a standard barrel, so the ratio of wood surface to liquid is far higher. Extraction happens faster. That is how you get a mahogany-dark whisky at just six years old, and it explains the red-fruit-and-spice profile the distillery describes rather than a lighter, coastal Ardnahoe.

At 60.5% this is bottled straight from the cask with nothing taken off. A splash of water is not optional here, it is part of the ritual.

Tasting notes

As described by Ardnahoe Distillery. We have not tasted this release, so these are the distillery’s notes rather than our own verdict.

Nose: Red fruits raspberry and dark cherry over sherried sweetness, with a wisp of Islay smoke underneath. 
Palate:Spice-led clove and cinnamon with red berry fruit and PX sweetness carried on cask-strength weight. 
Finish: Long, with a lingering smoky sweetness that ties the fruit and the peat together.

ABV: 60.5% | Cask: PX quarter cask | Age: 6 years | Price: £95

Who is Ardnahoe

ArdArdnahoe’s Fèis Ìle 2026 bottle is their oldest yet, and the worm tubs are the reason to carenahoe is Islay’s ninth distillery, sitting on the north-east coast between Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain, just north of Port Askaig, with views across the Sound of Islay to Jura. It was built by the Laing family behind Glasgow independent bottler Hunter Laing, with Stewart Laing realising a distillery ambition that dates back to his time working on Islay in the 1960s. Spirit first ran in October 2018 and the distillery opened to visitors in 2019.

What sets the spirit apart is the kit. Ardnahoe runs the only worm-tub condensers on Islay and what it claims are the longest lyne arms in Scotland, both of which build a rounder, weightier new make. The malt is peated to roughly 40ppm from Port Ellen Maltings. The distillery’s first official bottling, the 5-year-old Inaugural Release, arrived in May 2024, so at six years old this hand-fill is drawn from some of the oldest stock Ardnahoe has released to date.

Why we love a hand-fill

We always make time for a hand-fill when we visit a distillery. It is one of the few ways to take home a bottle that genuinely nobody else has, filled from a single cask that will never be repeated and signed in your own hand. Ours from the Johnnie Walker Experience in Edinburgh still gets pulled off the shelf first when friends come over, precisely because it invites the question: why does that one look different?

That is the real appeal of Release No 1. You fill it, you date it, you sign it, and you carry home a specific afternoon on Islay in a bottle. Whether or not the PX quarter cask turns out to be a great whisky, it is a great souvenir, and the two are not the same thing.

Price and availability

Release No 1 is £95 for a 700ml bottle at 60.5% ABV, sold only at the Ardnahoe Distillery Visitor Centre shop on Islay. This is a fill-your-own-bottle exclusive, so there is no online shop listing and no international shipping. You have to be there.

For international readers, that means a trip to Islay, reachable by ferry from Kennacraig to Port Askaig or by a short flight from Glasgow. If you are already planning a distillery run on the island, Ardnahoe sits on the northern route alongside Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain.

Is it worth it

At £95 for a cask-strength, six-year-old, single-cask PX-matured Islay single malt that you bottle yourself, this is fair for what it is: a distillery-exclusive keepsake with a real story attached. It is for the Islay traveller, the distillery-exclusive collector, and anyone who values the experience of filling a bottle as much as drinking it.

It is not for you if you cannot get to Islay, or if you want a whisky you can reorder online. Hand-fills are, by design, a one-shot souvenir. If Ardnahoe’s PX-and-peat direction appeals but a trip is not on the cards, keep an eye on the distillery’s wider core range instead, where the sherried expressions are easier to actually buy.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ardnahoe Hand-Fill Release No 1? It is the first hand-fill bottling from Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay: a 6-year-old single malt matured in Pedro Ximénez quarter casks and bottled at 60.5% cask strength. It is exclusive to the distillery’s visitor centre shop, where you fill and sign the bottle yourself.

What does Ardnahoe Hand-Fill Release No 1 taste like? Ardnahoe describes it as rich and flavourful, with red fruits, spice, and a lingering smoky sweetness. The PX quarter cask brings dark sherry sweetness and red-berry fruit, while the peated Islay spirit adds gentle smoke underneath. It is bottled at cask strength, so water helps it open up.

How much does Ardnahoe Hand-Fill Release No 1 cost? It costs £95 for a 700ml bottle at 60.5% ABV. That price is for the fill-your-own-bottle experience at the distillery, which includes signing and dating your own bottle as a keepsake of the visit.

Where can I buy Ardnahoe Hand-Fill Release No 1? Only at the Ardnahoe Distillery Visitor Centre shop on the Isle of Islay. It is a hand-fill exclusive, so there is no online listing and no international shipping. You have to visit the distillery in person to fill a bottle.

What cask is Ardnahoe Hand-Fill Release No 1 matured in? It is matured for six years in Pedro Ximénez quarter casks. PX is a sweet, dark style of sherry, and the smaller quarter cask increases wood contact, which drives the deep colour and the red-fruit, spice and smoky-sweet profile at a relatively young age.

Can you fill your own bottle at Ardnahoe? Yes. Release No 1 is a fill-your-own-bottle experience at the visitor centre. You draw the whisky from the cask, then date and sign the bottle yourself, making it a personal, one-off souvenir of your trip to the distillery.