WHITE SMOKE OVER ISLAY – Score: 7.5/10
Picture a morning on the north-east coast of Islay: a pale haze hanging over the Sound, the Paps of Jura half-hidden across the water, and the faint smell of a peat fire somewhere up the hill. That is more or less where this glass takes you. Ardnahoe is the island’s youngest distillery, founded by the Laing family and opened in 2019 on the shore of a small loch just north of Port Askaig — and Infinite Loch is one of the bottlings that tells the world what the new kid has to say.
Ardnahoe did not cut corners. Its stills carry exceptionally long lyne arms that lead into traditional worm tubs, a set-up designed to give the spirit both purity and a certain old-school weight. You can feel that ambition in the glass: this is peated Islay whisky, yes, but the smoke is white rather than black — soft, airy and drifting, more bonfire on the beach than tar on the road.
The nose brings that gentle smoke together with a clean, salty iodine breeze and a surprising flash of fresh mint, which keeps the whole thing bright and lifted. On the palate the texture turns pleasingly oily, coating the mouth while peat, sea spray and a touch of sweetness roll across in calm waves. The finish is medium-long, smoky and coastal, with the mint returning for a cool final bow.
Still young, and perhaps not yet as layered as its famous neighbours down the road, but the direction is clear and the balance is already impressive. If this is where Ardnahoe starts, the horizon over that loch might indeed turn out to be infinite.
