Welcome to the 2026 edition of the Feis Ile bottles guide!

Islay’s Fèis Ìle Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary and so I’ve decided to upgrade the grey logo with the colorful one published by the Fèis Ìle committee. Just nice to have a touch of color after 12 years 🙂

This year we also have a new Distillery showing up in the official Feis Ile festivities: Lagan Bay Distillery. Welcome aboard folks!

As usual it’s recommended to bookmark this post as this page will detail all the available information on the festival bottles and will be update each time more details will be revealed.

 

Updates:

26/05/2026 – Added Elixir Distillers and Fèis Committee Feis Ile 2026 bottle
19/05/2026 – Updated Jura Feis Ile 2026 bottles
16/05/2026 – Added Bruichladdich ROCK’NDAAL Feis Ile 2026 bottles
16/05/2026 – Added Rare Find Feis Ile 2026 bottles, adjusted RRP for Big Peat, Teaser details for Laddie ROCK’NDAAL 05.1 bottle
03/05/2026 – Updated Ardnahoe Feis Ile 2026 bottle details
30/04/2026 – Added a Bunnahabhain Feis Ile 2026 and Mac-Talla Feis Ile 2026 bottles
26/04/2026 – Added Lagavulin and Caol Ila Feis Ile 2026 bottles
21/04/2026 – Added Douglas Laing Big Peat Feis Ile 2026 bottle
09/04/2026 – Initial details on Ardnahoe Feis Ile 2026 bottle
05/04/2026 – Initial details on Jura Feis Ile 2026 bottles
01/04/2026 – Added Kilchoman Feis Ile 2026 bottle
31/03/2026  – Initial update with Laphroaig, Ardbeg & Bowmore festival bottles

Let’s get to the list of Feis Ile 2026 bottlings and the available information, all sorted by Festival dates:

Lagavulin – Open day on Saturday 23rd May 2026

• Lagavulin 14 Year Old Feis Ile 2026 (56.5%, £240, 1752 bottles)

Five years in Oloroso-seasoned American oak finish.

 

 

• Lagavulin 31 Years Old Skies Of Fèis Ìle 2026 (£2,800)

Long finish (over ten years) in heavily charred American oak hogsheads seasoned with Oloroso Sherry (Similar to the 29 Year Old edition from 2024)

Bruichladdich – Open day on Sunday 24th May 2026

• ROCK’NDAAL 05.1 Port Charlotte PC5 Redux  (63.5%, £75, 2500 bottles)

Commemorating the first liquid to come off the stills following our distillery’s 2001 refounding, this bottling is a rare reimagining of our first ever heavily peated release.

5 aged years, 40PPM, and bottled at 63.5% ABV, this is Port Charlotte in its formative years: bold, smoky and alive with bright citrus, orchard fruit and soft caramel.

 

 

• ROCK’NDAAL 05.2 Octomore OBA Redux (54.2%, £325, 2500 bottles)

A reimagining of the most famous Octomore release in our history, Octomore Black Art is an homage to our experimental history to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

Beautifully fragrant and fruit-forward Octomore where floral elegance and tropical sweetness meet persistent smoke and tempered oak. It is a spirit of immense power, yet possesses a silken, architectural refinement. A masterpiece of paradox.

 

Caol Ila – Open day on Monday 25th May 2026

• Caol Ila 11 Year Old Feis Ile 2026 (56.1%, £145, Don Julio Tequila Casks)

Laphroaig – Open day on Tuesday 26th May 2026

• Laphroaig Cairdeas 2026 French Oak (52.6%)

Laphroaig Càirdeas French Oak will be matured entirely in 100% French oak and be bottled at 52.6% ABV.

Tasting notes on the label says: “With bold notes of wood shavings and peat fires. A wave of plum, and maraschino cherry, dark chocolate, and polished leather. And a characteristic finish of sea salt and lingering peat smoke.”

 

Port Ellen – Open day on Tuesday 26th May 2026

 

Bowmore – Open day on Wednesday 27th May 2026

• Bowmore 2016 9 Year Old Fèis Ìle 2026 (55.4%, £130, 641 bottles)

Distilled on 27 May 2016 and matured in a Pedro Ximénez sherry-seasoned Spanish oak cask, this single cask release is a true expression of Bowmore’s character. Made using 100% floor-malted barley, it reflects the care and precision that define our whisky-making.

Drawn from Cask No. 3756, this rare bottling captures the richness of the cask alongside Bowmore’s signature balance; layered, complex, and deeply evocative of its island home.

Ardnahoe – Open day on Wednesday 27th May 2026

• Ardnahoe 7 Year Old Fèis Ìle 2026 (59.7%, 830 bottles, £85)

Our first ever 7 year old Ardnahoe, matured in Bourbon barrels, bottled at cask strength and available in very limited numbers.

Limited to three bottles per person.

Kilchoman – Open day on Thursday 28th May 2026

• Kilchoman 15 Year Old Calvados Finish Feis Ile 2026 (50.9%, £130, 637 bottles)

Our Fèis Ìle 2026 release, personally selected by Anthony Wills, will be a 15 Year Old Calvados Cask Finish. Just 637 bottles will be released with full details to follow.

This exclusive bottling will be available only from the distillery on Thursday 28th May and will be limited to one bottle per person.

Three 15 year old casks, matured for 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels before spending a further 5 years in ex-calvados casks.

Bunnahabhain – Open day on Friday 29th May 2026

• Bunnahabhain An Cuan Garbh No. 1 (51.6%, 7,571 bottles, £150)

White Port Cask Finish, fruity and elegant with notes of peach, apricot, candied citrus, honeyed almonds, and roasted malt.

 

 

 

• Bunnahabhain An Cuan Garbh No. 2 Fino Sherry Cask Finish (56.7%, £95)

Finished in hand-selected Fino sherry hogsheads, this expression celebrates Fèis Ìle and brings together crisp orchard fruit, almond nuttiness and Bunnahabhain’s signature coastal character.

 

 

• Bunnahabhain An Cuan Garbh No. 3 Mòine Sherry Cask Finish (58.4%, £175)

A 15 Year Old whisky full matured in a single refill sherry butt, this peated expression celebrates Fèis Ìle and balances rolling smoke, dried fruit richness and lingering coastal warmth.

Jura – Open day on Friday 29th May 2026

• Jura 16 Year Old Armagnac Cask Finish Fèis Ìle 2026 (55.3%, £130)

Initially matured in second fill Bourbon barrels before an 18 month finish in a single Armagnac cask.

This latest annual release is said to deliver notes of apricot, dark chocolate, apple marigold and a hint of bittersweet black liquorice on the nose, followed by notes of hazelnut, assorted fresh and dried stone fruits, rustic notes reminiscent of dunnage warehousing, farmhouse saison, apple crumble, dried fig and prune on the palate.

• Jura 24 Year Old Sauternes Finish Fèis Ìle 40th Anniversary Release (48.8%, £320)

initially matured in refill Bourbon barrels before being finished for eight years in a single Sauternes barrique.

This 40th Anniversary celebratory release is said to deliver notes of citrus peel, ripe apricot, pineapple, beeswax and soft mineral notes on the nose, followed by notes of freshly baked brioche, fragrant hints of lemon balm and vanilla-spiced peach on the palate.

Ardbeg – Open day on Saturday 30th May 2026

• Ardbeg Dolce (47.8%, £85/US$112/€99)

Aged in sweet Marsala dolce fortified wine casks from Sicily, along with Ardbeg’s signature Bourbon barrel-aged single malt.

“Sweet notes of apricot, marmalade and dark chocolate rub shoulders with salty, smoky flavours and roasted nutty tones.

“Enjoy this limited edition in a Sicilian courtyard, on a rain-drenched Scottish island or wherever you are. We think it’ll be an instant classic.”

Ardbeg will host events at the distillery and around the world in tribute to its limited edition Dolce, inviting fans to celebrate the glamour of 1960s Italian cinema with an ‘Ardbeggian’ twist.

Members of the Ardbeg Committee will have the chance to buy this bottling on the distillery’s website on 26 May, four days before its official release.

Laggan Bay – Open day on Sunday 31st May 2026

• TBD

The Islay Whisky Vault

• TBD

Rare Find

newcomers to the Feis Ile bottles scene, with a twist: 3 Caol Ila bottles in different finishes. Each release has an RRP of £99.00

The Rare Find Fèis Ìle 2026 Collection comprises:

• Rare Find Caol Ila 12-Year-Old Ruby Port Octave Finish (58.2% ABV)

Finished for three months in a Ruby Port octave (Limited to 61 bottles)

This release is said to deliver notes of smoked barbecue sauce, dried berries and warming mulling spices on the nose, followed by citrus, granite, medicinal smoke, redcurrants and raspberries on the palate.

• Rare Find Caol Ila 12-Year-Old Tawny Port Octave Finish (58.3% ABV)

Finished for three months in a Tawny Port octave (Limited to 63 bottles)

The whisky is described by the brand as offering notes of mince pies, cola cubes, medicinal peat smoke and pineapple chunks on the nose, followed by soft brown sugar, cola bottles, aniseed chews and lingering coastal smoke on the palate.

• Rare Find Caol Ila 12-Year-Old Madeira Octave Finish (57.9% ABV)

Finished for three months in a Madeira octave (Limited to 66 bottles)

This bottling is said to offer notes of griddled strawberries, salted almonds, ashy smoke and angelica on the nose, followed by aniseed, coastal smoke and zesty lemon tart on the palate.

SMWS (Scotch Malt Whisky Society)

Dramfool

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Douglas Laing

• Big Peat Feis Ile 2026 PX Sherry Casks Finish (52.6%, £50)

Crafted to mark the 40th Anniversary of Fèis Ìle, this limited edition brings together “his” classic marriage of Islay Single Malts in a release that honours the island, its spirit and its global Whisky community.

Big Peat’s unmistakable smoky style is enriched through finishing in exceptional Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks, adding layers of indulgent sweetness, depth and complexity.

Mac-Talla

• Mac-Talla Cognac Fèis Ìle 2026 (52.4%, £78)

The whisky began its maturation in first-fill Bourbon barrels before undergoing a further two years in Cognac casks. The resulting liquid combines coastal peat smoke with a fruit-forward influence from the Cognac cask finishing.

Elixir Distillers

• Fèis Ìle 40th Anniversary Bottling (49.2%, £130, 260 bottles)

A whisky spanning decades – crafted by Elixir Distillers and gifted to the Fèis Ile Committee on their 40th Anniversary, this commemorative bottle contains whisky from all 4 decades of the Festival.

Elixir Distillers blended a selection of Islay whiskies carefully, using Islay stock from the 1980’s, 90’s, 00’s. 10’s and 20’s. This was then brought together to rest for three months in a fresh Ruby Port cask, to commemorate the Festival’s Ruby Anniversary, creating 260 bottles of exceptional whisky.

Elixir Distillers have very kindly gifted the entire bottling to the Fèis Committee, this means that all the money from every bottle goes back to the Committee and to Islay. We’re incredibly grateful to Elixir for making this possible.

The whisky goes on sale in just a few hours, at 11am on Tuesday 26th May 2026. It is priced at £130, and is available exclusively from the Islay Whisky Vault, Bridgend, Islay. One bottle per person.

The Single Cask

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Finlaggan

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Islay Mist