Ardnahoe 5yo Skerryvore XX
Limited Edition 2025 release | 50% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
High quality sherried whisky without being in your face
Why are there no good new bands these days?
It’s a question that seems to arrive suddenly in your forties and by the time you hit fifty it has just become a fact rather than a question.
You’ve transitioned from the Radio 1 demographic, through Radio 2 and suddenly you now find yourself listening to mainly podcasts and a lot of talk radio, news, sport, current affairs, and if I’m honest, a lot of whisky podcasts. My mum was an avid Radio 2 listener when I was growing up; now I’ve reached the stage in life where Radio 2 may actually be a bit too edgy for me.
As someone who grew up in the 1980s I don’t think my musical tastes ever truly escaped the era when I was aged 15 to 30. They did try to escape the 1980s and 90s once, I found them listening to something from 2016 and we had a long talk. Yes, my musical interest has expanded, but if anything, it has mostly gone towards older music: Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival. There aren’t many bands which appeared from 2010 onwards taking up space on my playlists and I really don’t see that position changing any time soon.
One of the few bands I can think of that I have become a fan of in the last ten years is Skerryvore – a modern Scottish rock band. Think Runrig with a more enthusiastic bagpipe involvement and a bit more of an edge. Skerryvore have just celebrated their 20th anniversary as a band which makes me pause to consider whether a 2005 heritage band is helping or hindering my argument here, but given that I don’t think they really got mainstream success until the 2020s I’m calling it aw gid (that’s “all good” for anyone needing the subtitles).
I have been lucky enough to see Skerryvore live twice in the past year, firstly at an outdoor gig at Floors Castle in the Scottish Borders in May and again at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow this month. Both were fantastic, but May’s was especially good, a stunning castle backdrop on a lovely evening, uncharacteristically dry for Scotland in the Spring.
Skerryvore are a band originally formed on the Hebridean island of Tiree, which is west of Mull. Tiree does have a whisky distillery itself and released its inaugural outturn consisting of 800 bottles in January 2025 - at £199 a bottle. I don’t think there has been an outturn since and I certainly haven’t tried it. In a romantic sense it would be great to see the Band collaborate with the local distillery but at that output level it’s unlikely to be practical just now.
I believe that Skerryvore did have a previous bottle released in conjunction with Bruichladdich to celebrate their 10th Anniversary but that was a much smaller batch, around 290 bottles rather than the 2000 they released this time around.
Thankfully, although there may be no new quality bands, there is plenty new and amazing, flavoursome whisky appearing. The quality of the output from Ardnahoe thus far is a testament to that statement and we can all think of plenty of other examples to demonstrate that fact.
Review
Ardnahoe 5yo, Skerryvore XX Release, 2025, 50% ABV
£65 sold out
This is a bottle I bought straight away when it was released. It sold out pretty quick and so other than trawling the secondary markets you won’t get your hands on it now.
I was lucky enough to be at a table involving the ever-engaging Paul from Ardnahoe the day before the Glasgow Whisky Festival and I mentioned that I had this but hadn’t opened it yet. Without any prompting he immediately volunteered to bring a sample of it along to GWF. And true to his word, at GWF there it was - a sample under the table for myself and Mrs Campbell to try on the day. What a gentleman following through on his promise.
This was a limited release of 2,000 bottles, made up of eight casks which we are told were carefully chosen by the band members. Those were all 5-year-old casks comprising an Oloroso sherry hogshead, three Pedro Ximénez sherry quarter casks, three bourbon barrels and a refill bourbon barrel. At £65 it is excellent value and something the distillery would have been able to sell out of with a £20 a bottle extra on the margin.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
High quality sherried whisky without being in your face
Nose
The nose is immediately salted caramel, with a noticeable overlay of baked apples and buttered pastry. There is some citrus and the peat smoke is there, integrated with the salinity you hope for from west coast island maturation.
Palate
It is immediately creamy and salty. There are a lot of red berry fruits along with plum, some papaya and smoked bacon. It is subtly sherried with a bit of peppery spice and a touch of the mulled wine about. The peat smoke is lovely and balanced, it doesn’t overpower.
The finish is medium-long, it isn’t a heavy mouth feel but nor is it light. The mouth warming comes at the end of the dram and is quite drying on the mouth at that stage.
The Dregs
Ardnahoe just does not disappoint. The brilliant releases just keep rolling out, one after another.
My peat blight undoubtedly means I am seriously underestimating the peating level here, it is noticeable, but arguably not noticeable enough for my palate.
The question I can’t answer is whether this differs significantly from the Ardnahoe Bholsa core release - which is sherried. Having now ordered a bottle I may be able to answer it in the future though.
This is a great dram at a really good price. For me though this does not quite reach the heights of the Aqvavitae small batch release reviewed by Mason last year, an 8/10 that I thoroughly endorse. The Sherry influence here softens out some of the more distinctive and interesting elements from the bourbon cask releases but I can understand the logic. I’m sure a degree of thought went into attracting fans of the band who may not be as whisky obsessed as the average Dramface reader.
And let’s face it, some nights, as you listen along to try and understand some 2016 vintage music, you just want a smooth sipper that doesn’t demand as much thought.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. CC
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