Ardnamurchan 8yo AD/Venturers Paul Launois (2026 Release)

Ardnamurchan 8yo AD/Venturers Paul Launois (2026 Release)

Region: Highlands

ABV: 56.7%

Price: £79.95

Distilled in 2017 and bottled in 2026 at 8 years old, this AD/Venturers Club release was drawn from casks #133 and #182. It was matured in bourbon barrels before a four month finishing period in Paul Launois Champagne casks. A total of 460 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with lemon sorbet, almond paste, a little raw ginger root, fresh apple and a bit of sawn wood. There's a bit of spiritiness in the background, slightly youthful for us, but balanced from an alcohol perspective. Going back, we're getting more nuttiness, those almonds are now joined by walnuts and hazelnuts, and overall it feels quite dry in profile. We're also finding richer aromas of warm caramels and something a little cola-like - cola bottles perhaps. It feels a little tight, we're having to get quite deep into the glass to find these aromas.

Palate

The palate opens with a lovely thick, glossy and viscous texture - a real triumph of mouthfeel. There's a lot of caramels, toffees and tree sap, and gives a real chewy finish to the dram. There's a warmth here, more alcohol kick than we would have expected given the softness on the nose, and presents as freshly grated ginger and a bit of black pepper. Saying that, the warmth brings a certain character to the dram when mixed with the richer oak flavours. Going back, we're also finding lots of digestive biscuits, dark chocolate, maraschino cherries, and apples inside a Danish pastry.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose really opens up, and the sweet caramels, fudges and toffees all begin to jump out of the glass. We're also getting a lot more biscuitiness too - lots of digestives and oat cookies. We can't express how much better (read: more expressive) the nose is with water and would definitely recommend adding a few drops.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate loses a touch of that triumphant texture, however maintains a lot of the same sweet, spicy and dry flavours we found previously. There's now a saline quality appearing, wet rocks, some salt water beginning to appear, nodding to the maritime character of the whisky. 

Conclusion

We've heard really positive things about this release so we're trying to avoid being swayed too much - but it's a solid PL release from Ardnamurchan. The nose is a little tight for us, but the palate really delivers bags of flavour. It's a mixture of dry, biscuitiness and caramel sweetness - really quite tasty. Perhaps it runs a bit spicy in places, but it's a solid whisky

Score: 7/10

Value

Some people might think £80 is a bit much, but it is in line with what you usually pay for cask strength releases from the distillery.

• 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.