For any artist or producer, unveiling your first creation to the world can be a nerve-wracking moment. Finally, there is a physical manifestation of the time, effort, and energy you have expended in the pursuit of something to represent your vision and views. It is ready to make its transition from the private to the public sphere — but are you ready to let it go? Allowing it out into the wild, and into the path of other people’s assessment and critique, is enough to shake even the steeliest of resolves.
The team from independent Scotch whisky bottler Hunter Laing & Co found themselves on this precipice recently as they unveiled the inaugural single malt whisky from their Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay. The excitement was palpable, but so were the nerves.
The bespoke bottle was unveiled in the still room. Inside was a 50% ABV five-year-old peated single malt. Glasses were poured out and passed round. Ardnahoe distillery manager Fraser Hughes was present, along with Scott and Andrew Laing, the brothers who co-founded Hunter Laing & Co with their father Stewart in 2013.
The team needn’t have worried. The meticulous care that the company has put into whisky production at Ardnahoe over the past five and a half years
