Ardnahoe Bholsa & Ardnahoe Feis Ile 2024

Ardnahoe Bholsa

Region: Islay

ABV: 50.0%

Price: £60.00

There’s not a great deal of official detail available on Bholsa, the distillery’s second core range release. What we do know is that it’s predominantly matured in Oloroso sherry casks and bottled at 50% ABV, with no artificial colouring or chill-filtration.

Nose

A mix of savoury and sweet notes to start on the nose—apple turnover, yeast, bread, beef crisps, dates, and lemon peel. It’s surprisingly light on peat compared to other Ardnahoe releases, which had us wondering if a splash of water might help open it up. That said, there’s a nice balance here, with the sherry working in harmony with the spirit. It’s easy to nose at 50%, with just a gentle peppery spice.

Palate

There’s more ashy peat on the palate than the nose lets on, and it hits you immediately. Behind that is a decent layer of sweetness—caramel, vanilla, citrus. Alongside that some pipe smoke, and a touch of crusty bread. The medium length finish has plenty of peat and sweet notes. There’s actually less sherry influence here than we were expecting, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although we enjoy our cask strength releases we’ll admit the mouthfeel is good for a 50% ABV release.

Nose (with water)

Water brings out more pepper spice, citrus, and a slight chlorine note, but overall it hasn’t changed the palate dramatically. As it sits in the glass, the peat does start to peek through more noticeably.

Palate (with water)

On the palate, things have become a touch drier with a hint of bitterness—lightly roasted coffee comes to mind. The peat is dialled back slightly, and while the mouthfeel is thinner, the sweetness is more concentrated. That said, the sweetness now leans a touch synthetic. The finish remains similar in length.

Conclusion

Less sherry influence than expected, but there’s a nice balance between the sweetness and the spirit character. Like the distillery’s inaugural release, it doesn’t show its age, and of all the releases so far, this one just edges ahead of the rest. We’re keen to revisit Ardnahoe as the spirit continues to mature in the coming years. These releases are edging closer to an 8, but they’re not quite there yet.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

Competitively priced compared to other new wave distilleries—£60 is in the same ballpark as something like Ardnamurchan’s Sherry Cask release (£62), and undercuts more established names like Aberlour A’Bunadh.

Ardnahoe Feis Ile 2024

Region: Islay

ABV: 59.3%

Price: £85.00

Ardnahoe’s Fèis Ìle release is a five-year-old whisky matured in a combination of first-fill and refill bourbon casks. A total of 931 bottles were released for the festival.

Nose

Burnt newspapers, roasted cashews, and dry earth lead the way, followed by a slight medicinal note—think antiseptic with a touch of chlorine. There’s an aftershave-like quality here, alongside vanilla cupcakes, iodine, rock salt, and burnt brown bread. The nose is fairly dry and what little sweetness we detect is hidden somewhat by the peat. There’s also a slight pepperiness from the alcohol, but nothing too off-putting. Letting it sit in the glass, we start picking up buttercream icing, pine cones, and wood chips.

Palate

Pleasant enough but a little one-dimensional. There’s lemon, tar, antiseptic, and hay upfront, followed by sugar cubes, vanilla, brine, and burnt coffee on the mid-palate. The finish is short to medium, though the spice from the alcohol outlasts the other smokier and sweeter notes. The mouthfeel is decent, but we were hoping for more sweetness to balance things out.

Nose (with water)

With water, the ABV and spice become more pronounced, and we start getting a smoky bacon vibe—like Frazzles. There’s also a beef Bovril note, more medicinal smoke, and some of the sweetness has disappeared. Hints of butter, bread, and yeast peek through, giving away the whisky’s youth.

Palate (with water)

Water softens the spice slightly while bringing out tobacco and leather. However, there’s also a perfumed soapiness and a herbal musk that we’re less enthusiastic about. Plenty of ash now lingers on the finish, but the mouthfeel feels thinner with dilution.

Conclusion

The other Ardnahoe releases we’ve tried included more sherry in the mix, which we feel helped mask some of the youthful spirit notes and provided a bit more complexity. This one isn’t bad, but it does fall short compared to other releases from the distillery.

Score: 7/10

Value

We’ve said this before, but it’s still true, £85 for a 5-year-old does feel a bit on the expensive side, but it’s in line with the pricing we’ve seen from most of the “New Wave” distilleries.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

If you like what you’ve read then check out our social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to get notifications of when we post a new review or just to chat about whisky with us.