The Fèis Ìle, Islay’s annual celebration of whisky and culture, started in the 1980s as a local festival of music and Gaelic traditions. Now, it has become a global pilgrimage for whisky fans, as distilleries across the island release limited-edition bottlings made exclusively for the event every year. With this year’s festival already in full swing, here’s a round-up of the official Fèis Ìle 2025 whisky releases announced so far. Some will inevitably escape this article – a few distilleries like announcing secret releases on extremely short notice. Others are available to the general public outside of festival attendees, I’ve included purchase links where available.
Here’s what Islay’s distilleries are cooking up:
Ardbeg – Smokiverse, 48.5% ABV, $125
The 2025 Ardbeg Day release, “Smokiverse,” is proudly marketed as a ‘high-gravity’ whisky – meaning that less water was used along with more grains being packed in during the brewing process, resulting in more fermentable sugars that can translate to more aromas and flavors in the resulting whisky. By maturing it entirely in in ex-bourbon casks (this article claims the age is around 10 years but no actual age is officially given), the notes from this process are brought to the fore.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Smoked bubblegum, sourdough bread. Gets more tropical with water and peat smoke gets less intense and more aromatic.
- Palate: Soot, spice, creosote, aniseed, and clove is balanced by muscovado sugar.
- Finish: Earthy peat moss and bonfires.
Ardnahoe – Fèis Ìle 2025, 59.8% ABV, £85
Ardnahoe’s second Fèis Ìle release is a 6-year-old single malt matured in first-fill Bourbon barrels. Bottled at natural cask strength, this limited edition comprises 1,116 individually numbered bottles. Available exclusively at the distillery, not much information is available on its taste profile but so far all past releases from the distillery have been excellent.
Bowmore – Fèis Ìle 2025 Distillery Exclusive, 56% ABV, $160
Matured in a single sherry cask, this 8-year-old Bowmore was crafted using 100% floor-malted barley and bottled at 56% ABV, and matured in Bowmore’s No.1 Vault which is typically used for the distillery’s showcase casks earmarked for great things. It’s only available at the distillery.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Blackcurrant, liquorice root, leather, hazelnut, toasted almond, black pepper, and peat smoke.
- Palate: Sweet and oily, parma violets, charred orange rind, black cherry, with a lingering woody smoke.
Bunnahabhain – Turas Math No. 1, 55.9% ABV, $200
Released for Fèis Ìle 2025, Turas Math No. 1 is the only one of Bunnahabhain’s three. festival releases available outside of the distillery in select retailers. Two different types of casks were used for maturation. Some of the liquid involved was matured in Manzanilla sherry butts for the full 15 years, while the rest. Bunnahabhain matured in Manzanilla tends to be a winner as the cask emphasizes Bunnahabhain’s drier, marine and salty notes.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Dark fruits, cloves, roasted nuts.
- Palate: Cinnamon pastries, hazelnuts, dried figs and herbal notes.
- Finish: Warming spices and a hint of sea spray.
Bunnahabhain – Turas Math No. 2, 58.4% ABV, $125
Unlike the No. 1, Turas Math No. 2 and No. 3 are available only at the distillery. The more budget-friendly option of the pair is matured in ex-bourbon before being finished in Palo Cortado sherry casks.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Vanilla buttercream, fresh sponge cake, candied lemon zest, almonds and hints of raisins and figs.
- Palate: Honeyed hazelnuts, orange marmalade, gentle spices, dried fruits and a touch of oak.
- Finish: A long sweet finish with subtle toffee notes and clove.
Bunnahabhain – Turas Math No. 3, 50.2% ABV, £375
A 19-year-old unpeated single malt was finished in an Armagnac cask which is very unusual in the whisky world.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Packed full of dried fruits, apricot, creamy vanilla, toasted oak, and a hint of dark chocolate.
- Palate: Candied orange, caramel, ginger, and a hint of liquorice.
- Finish: A lingering finish with oak spice and cocoa
Bruichladdich – Octomore Polyphonic 01, 54.9% ABV, $415
Octomore whiskies are famous for being some of the peatiest available. The range’s festival special, Polyphonic 01, is a 15-year-old single malt made from a blend of seven distinct casks, including Grenache, Bourbon, Sauternes, Syrah, Amarone, Oloroso, and PX. It is the oldest Octomore yet bottled. No wonder the 2,500 available bottles already sold out.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Sweet cinder toffee, vanilla fudge, dark chocolate, sea salt, burnt orange, barbecue smoke, honeysuckle.
- Taste: Baked pastries, ground coffee, golden syrup, oak sea salt and bonfires.
- Finish: Peat smoke and sea spray.
Bruichladdich – Port Charlotte Single Cask, 53.3% ABV, £165
Given how long the Port Charlotte range has been around, I was truly surprised to read on the distillery website that this is the first ever official single cask bottling outside of its distillery shop exclusive Valinch releases. This 19 year old whisky was matured entirely in a second-fill Moscatel wine cask, and of course is already sold out.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Cinder toffee, toasted bread, stone fruit jam, tropical fruit, peat smoke.
- Palate: Candied fruit, brown sugar, toasted oak, and peat smoke.
- Finish: A perfect harmony of peat smoke, fruit and toasted oak.
Caol Ila – Fèis Ìle 2025, 55.8% ABV, $150
This 8-year-old Caol Ila was finished in Colombian oak after maturation in refill, PX, and Oloroso-seasoned casks. It is only available at the distillery and Diageo’s internet retail site malts.com (though not yet listed at time of writing), with 1,476 bottles available.
Official tasting notes summary:
“This release explores Caol Ila’s waxy character, delivering an intensely smooth, oily texture and a richer, unexpectedly sweet profile emerging from the Colombian Oak cask finish. The whisky’s complex smoke is amplified by layers of spice notes and peppery warmth.”
Jura – Fèis Ìle 2025, 55.3% ABV, $185
No need for unusual maturation here – this single cask Jura is matured for 17 years in an Oloroso sherry butt, which gave up only 300 bottles. These are available only at the distillery, a good reward for making the pilgrimage over. This is apparently a sister cask of the 2022 festival release from the distillery.
Official tasting notes summary:
“With an additional three years maturation, #1895 builds on the complexity of our 2022 Fèis Ìle release, with notes of crystallised citrus, prune, and hazelnut together with hints of polished leather and dark chocolate from its full-course Sherry maturation.” – Jura whiskymaker Joe Ricketts
Kilchoman – Fèis Ìle 2025, 57.5% ABV
Kilchoman blended together two Madeira casks to create this 9 year old whisky, of which there are only 615 bottles available and was made using barley exclusively grown on Islay. Curiously, the peating level (20 ppm) is lower than most Kilchomans.
Official tasting notes summary:
“We very rarely mature our 100% Islay spirit for its full maturation in anything other than ex-bourbon or sherry casks, so I was thrilled to find these unusual casks coming along so well. The lighter peating level allows for the bold Madeira notes to come through into the whisky.” – Anthony Wills, Kilchoman founder
Lagavulin – 15 Year Old Fèis Ìle 2025, 55.7% ABV, $325
This 15-year-old Lagavulin was finished in Moscatel de Málaga casks, and is only available at the distillery with 1,596 bottles available. Like with the Caol Ila, while the official presser says the whisky will be available on malts.com as well as the distillery shop, it is not yet available at time of writing.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Salted toffee, ripe berries, maritime medicinal undertones.
- Palate: Smooth and creamy with sweetness, salt, spice, and smoke.
- Finish: Long, drying with lingering fragrant smoke and Sichuan pepper spice.
Laphroaig – Càirdeas Lore Cask Strength, 59.6% ABV, $110
The 2025 Càirdeas release is a cask strength version of Laphroaig’s ‘Lore’, blending a wide variety of cask types including ex-Bourbon, Oloroso sherry, European oak, and quarter casks. It’s only available at the Laphroaig distillery shop and to Friends of Laphroaig, the distillery’s loyalty programme.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Salt and citrus with spices, wood, pepper, and powerful peat smoke.
- Palate: Explosion of peat, salty sea spray, lemon zest, salted limes, caramel, fresh mint, rich tea leaves, cumin, cloves, ginger.
- Finish: Long-lasting with citrus sweetness and plenty of phenols.
Outside of the distilleries, some indie bottlers with a longstanding association with Islay also often release their own festival bottlings. Here’s the ones announced so far:
Douglas Laing – Big Peat Fèis Ìle 2025, 50% ABV, $80
For the 2025 Fèis Ìle, family business and indie bottler Douglas Laing have released a customary festival edition of Big Peat, their iconic Islay blended malt. This year’s release is marketed as a 2010 ‘vintage’ matured exclusively in refill hogsheads and bottled at 14 years old.
Knowing this…I therefore must quibble. Claiming a 2010 ‘vintage’ implies all whiskies blended in were distilled that year, but the blend also includes some precious Port Ellen according to the Douglas Laing website, which was not in operation in 2010…regardless this should still be good value for money.
Official tasting notes summary:
“Expect layers of sweet smoke intertwined with a salty, oceanic character, culminating in the signature smoky BBQ profile for which Big Peat is renowned.” – Douglas Laing press release.
Mac-Talla – Fèis Ìle 2025 Amarone Cask Finish, 54.3% ABV, $105
Mac-Talla’s 2025 Fèis Ìle release is NAS (No Age Statement) finished in two different Amarone wine casks from Northern Italy that were then blended together.
Official tasting notes summary:
- Nose: Apricot, peach, cocoa richness, and a subtle lingering wisp of peat smoke.
- Palate: Dark chocolate, stone fruit, and peat.
- Finish: Lingering peat.