THE Isle of Islay’s ninth and newest distillery has received a five-star grading from VisitScotland.
Ardnahoe Distillery, situated on the north-east of the island, received top marks in the national tourism organisation’s Quality Assurance (QA) Scheme in recognition of its exceptional standards. The QA Scheme is a benchmark for quality across the tourism industry and operates across accommodation, visitor attractions and food sectors.
The distillery opened in April this year and has so far welcomed 24,000 visitors. The attraction offers a range of tours, tastings, a gift shop and a restaurant. The restaurant also received VisitScotland’s Taste Our Best award.
Along with his sons Scott and Andrew, Ardnahoe was founded by Stewart Laing, who has over 50 years’ experience in the whisky industry. His strong affinity for Islay and a reverence for its distinctive, peated malt whiskies meant it was the perfect place to open a distillery and in 2015, he found the four-acre site by Loch Ardnahoe.
Work began in late 2016 and the first runs of distillation began in late 2018. In April of 2019, Ardnahoe was officially opened to the public.
Ardnahoe is now one of only two distilleries on the island to receive a five-star grading from VisitScotland. It is the third distillery in Argyll & Bute to receive the accolade.
Regarded by many as “whisky island”, Islay is just 25 miles long and 15 miles wide but boasts a remarkable nine distilleries. Bowmore is said to be one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, dating back to 1779.
Paul Graham, visitor centre operations manager, said: “The whole distillery team at Ardnahoe have a real passion for whisky and Islay. Coupled with their expert knowledge and warm welcome, they have offered an exceptional experience for visitors since we opened in April. I’m thrilled to see our hard work recognised by this award from VisitScotland.”
David Adams McGilp, VisitScotland regional director, said: “To achieve a five-star grading on the first time of asking is a testament to the hard work of this business to offer a quality experience.”
He added: “Our Quality Assurance Scheme is world-leading and provides a trusted, independent and impartial source of information."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel