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Ardbeg
Region Islay District South Shore Water source Lochs Arinambeast & Uigidale Neighbours Lagavulin Owner Glenmorangie plc Manager Michael 'Mickey' Heads Visitor centre September-May:
Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm.
June-August:
7 days a week, 10am-5pm.
Pre-booking for tours is advisable. Please note that the distillery closes during the Christmas holiday period.
Admission price:
UnknownAddress Port Ellen
Islay, Argyll PA42 7EAPhone +44 (0) 1496 302 244 oldkiln@ardbeg.com Website http://www.ardbeg.com/ History 1815 : established by the MacDougal family
1981 : closed
1997 : bought, renewed and opened by Glenmorangie plcHouse Style Earthy, tarry and very peaty, with citrus and apple notes, and a distinct seaside edge. (approx. 50ppm phenol). Pronunciation Ard-bèk Meaning Capacity per year 1.000.000 litres Independent Bottler Douglas Laing
Gordon & MacPhail
SignatoryInformation It is, perhaps, the most peaty malt whisky in the world - certainly of all the Islay malts. Not to mention beautifully balanced, complex and deep. It's unthinkable now, but in 1981 production ceased and the distillery was mothballed. Happily in 1997, this beautiful malt began to flow again and enjoys enduring protection from all things bad by a loyal band in the shape of The Ardbeg Committee - a worldwide family of Ardbeg aficionados in 90 countries who work tirelessly to drink more Ardbeg and bring others into this esteemed fold.
DISTILLERY BOTTLINGS
Ardbeg - Still Young - 8 year old - 56,2%
Colour:
Light gold.
Nose:
Fresh, with lemon zest and newly dug peat
Palate:
A pinch of salt. Well balanced peat, nuts and malt, developing fresh fruit notes. A peppery edge keeps you on your toes.
Finish:
Long and warming in the finish, drying with lingering almonds.Ardbeg - Almost there - 9 year old - 54,1%
Unchillfiltered.
Cask:
Bourbon.
Colour:
Strow gold.
Nose:
Peat bogs and fudge! An intriguing mix of peat bogs, pine cones and birch tar, interlaced with the sweetness of fudge and caramel toffees and just a tang of salt. Refreshing menthol and eucalyptus simmer beneath creamy vanilla and chocolate.
Water softens the nose revealing layers of glycerine soap, honeycomb, waxed lime peel and creamy lemon custard, before the freshness of gooseberries and honeydew melons is discovered. Floral notes of verbena and violet mingle with spicy black pepper and aniseed balls.
Palate:
Explosive and mouth filling. Deliciously sweet and fruity as lemon syrup and orange oils enveloped in aromatic peat smoke coat the palate, before the tang of salt, gooseberry and clementine acidity cuts through the sweetness. Violet scented sweets and aromatic herbal and menthol notes are discovered, finishing with espresso coffee and dark chocolate.
Finish:
Long creamy finish with touches of peat oils and bittersweet chocolate, violets and pine nuts.Ardbeg - 10 year old - 46%
Cask:
Bourbon.
Colour:
Light gold.
Nose:
Exceptional balance and depth. At full strength, the aroma is a beguiling mix of toffee and chocolate sweetness, cinnamon spice and medicinal phenols. Fresh citrus and floral notes of white wine are evident, as are melon, pear drops and a gentle creaminess. There is also the fresh phenolic aroma of sea spray and smoked fish. Hickory and coffee emerge later as the most volatile top notes fade. With water, the depth of the peat opens up, at once revealing layers of phenols with gristy peat and and leather followed by medicinal phenols (carbolic soap) and a whiff of wood smoke. However, the sweetness of vanilla and the fragrance of citrus fruits are never far behind, maintaining the balance and intrigue.
Palate:
An initial moderate and clean sweetness of deep peat notes, with tobacco smoke and strong espresso coffee, which then gives way to treacle sweetness and liquorice.The mouthfeel is firstly lightly spiced, then chewing, and mouthwatering and full, finally drying.
Finish:
Long and smoky. A smoky sweetness is left on the palate, with a crushed peat and sweet-malted cereal character.Ardbeg - Uigeadail - 10 year old - 54,2%
A mix of 1993 bourbon casks and older fino sherry casks it has an exciting peaty attack tempered by a lip-smacking sherried texture. Recent bottlings have become a little drier and more Fino sherry in style.
Cask:
Bourbon and sherry.
Colour:
Gold.
Nose:
Rich, fruity, musty and leathery. With time and water, becomes very raisiny.
Palate:
Huge! Earthy, rich sweetness, smoky and malty. Great balance and surprisingly drinkeable at cask strength.
Finish:
Very long and smoky.Ardbeg - Airigh Nam Beist - 16 year old - 46%
The curious name is pronounced “Arry nam Baysht” and is the second loch down from Uigeadail. It therefore performs a balancing role in supplying the water from Loch Uigeadail required by the distillery. In the ancient Gaelic language it means “place, or shelter of the beast or animals”
Colour:
Straw yellow.
Nose:
Smoky, ice cream, fennel, pine nuts and zesty limes.
Palate:
Peppery, oily mouthfeel. Maple syrup, smoky bacon, antiseptic lozenges, some vanilla, smoked meats and barbecue spices.
Finish:
Zesty , smoky and intriguing.
Ardbeg - 17 year old - 40%
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg - Committee Bottling - 21 year old - 56,3%
Unchillfiltered.
Cask:
Bourbon.
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg - Lord of the Isles - 25 year old - 46%
Colour:
Gold-amber.
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg 2006 - Single Cask Christmas - 54,2%
Limited to 522 bottles.
Colour:
Dark amber.
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg - 30 year old - 40%
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg 1977 - 40%
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg 1976 - 40%
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg 1976 - Cask 2390 - 53,1%
Limited to 494 bottles.
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg 1974 - Cask 5666 - 52%
Cask number 5666. Limited to 133 bottles and only sold at the UK. Unchillfiltered.
Cask:
Bourbon.
Colour:
Dark amber-gold.
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg 1974 - Cask 4989 - 31 year old - 51,2%
Cask number 4989. Limited to 133bottles and only sold at the UK. Unchillfiltered.
Colour:
Dark amber.
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg 1974 - Cask 2751 - 51,8%
Unchillfiltered.
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg Single Cask 1375 - 54,2%
Distilled in 1975. Only 522 bottles.
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg Provenance - 55,8%
Distilled in 1974 and bottled in 1989.
Colour:
Gold.
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg 1965 - 39 year old - 42,1%
Distilled in 1965 and limited to 261 bottles. Bottled in 2004.
Cask:
Colour:
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Finish:
Ardbeg 1897
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
INDEPENDENT BOTTLINGS FROM DOUGLAS LAING
Ardbeg 1991 - The Old Malt Cask - 14 year old - 50%
Distilled in March 1991 and bottled in 2005. Limited to 358 bottles.
Cask:
Colour:
Gold-Amber.
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:Ardbeg 1975 - Old and Rare - 30 year old - 46,1%
Unchillfiltered.
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
The Ardbeggeddon Ardbeg 1972 - 29 year old - 48,4%
Bottled by Douglas Laing for The Whisky Shop.
Cask:
Sherry.
Colour:
Bright gold.
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
INDEPENDENT BOTTLINGS FROM GORDON & MACPHAIL
Ardbeg 1996 - Connoisseurs Choice - 40%
Bottled in 2005.
Cask:
Refill bourbon barrels.
Colour:
Yellow Staw.
Nose:
Sweet phenols with an oily note-germolene. Hints of ozone and smoked kippers.
Palate:
Smoky, ashy with a rounding sweetness. Some birch-wood and mossy flavours. A strong carbolic note develops.
Finish:
Phenolic with a salty edge.Ardbeg 1995 - Connoisseurs Choice - 40%
Cask:
First Fill and Refill Sherry Casks.
Colour:
Light gold.
Nose:
Medicinal with hints of iodine and carbolic soap. A subtle smoked fish element - slightly sweet and oily.
Palate:
Birchwood with salty/briny elements. A softening sweetness emerges with a rich sherry fruitiness.
Finish:
Ash with some medicinal notes and a rounding sherry edge.Ardbeg 1994 - Connoisseurs Choice - 40%
Cask:
First Fill and Refill Sherry Casks.
Colour:
Straw Yellow.
Nose:
Creamy with medicinal notes and some malt aromas.
Palate:
Peaty - birch wood and earthy flavours, some salty (driftwood) elements, turning ashy.
Finish:
Slightly medicinal with peaty notes.Ardbeg 1993 - Connoisseurs Choice - 40%
Cask:
First Fill and Refill Sherry Casks.
Colour:
Pale yellow.
Nose:
Creamy, smoke cured ham. Salty (sea tangle, driftwood).
Palate:
Salty, briny with birch wood flavours. Some sweet, medicinal notes present.
Finish:
Slightly oily - creosote.Ardbeg 1991 - Connoisseurs Choice - 40%
Cask:
First Fill and Refill Sherry Casks.
Colour:
Amber.
Nose:
Sweet, smoke cured ham. Slightly oily - creosote.
Palate:
Sweet and oily. Peppercorns. Hints of stewed fruits underneath.
Finish:
Definitely Islay but balanced with other flavours and aromas.Ardbeg 1990 - Connoisseurs Choice - 40%
Cask:
First Fill and Refill Sherry Casks.
Colour:
Rich gold.
Nose:
Wood smoke with a sweet medicinal note. Sherry hint in the background.
Palate:
Smokiness again, smoked ham/bacon. Spicy elements - mustard seeds. Sherry wood
starts to emerge.
Finish:
Ash, with subtle medicinal hint.Ardbeg 1979 - Connoisseurs Choice - 26 year old - 43%
Bottled in 2005. Chillfiltered.
Cask:
Refill Bourbon Barrels.
Colour:
Pale straw.
Nose:
Sweet vanilla, with a smoky edge. Medicinal but very subtle.
Palate:
TCP/medicinal notes develop, smooth smokiness, coating, oily.
Finish:
Long and very, very smooth.Ardbeg 1978 - Connoisseurs Choice - 27 year old - 43%
Bottled in 2005. Chillfiltered.
Cask:
Bourbon.
Colour:
Light gold.
Nose:
Sweet, wood smoke, hints of smoked ham. A touch of ozone and some briny/sea tangle aromas.
Palate:
Sweetness lacd with ash and peat smoke. Iodine and carbolic soap flavours present along with a salty edge.
Finish:
Phenolic. Birchwood, moss, ash and peat smoke.Ardbeg 1976 - Connoisseurs Choice - 43%
Cask:
Refill American Casks.
Colour:
Rich amber.
Nose:
Spicy aromas - pepper and grain mustard with a subtle fruit element developing. Birch wood notes also present.
Palate:
Sweet notes with an ash like smokiness, slightly salty with driftwood flavours. A touch of citrus fruit.
Finish:
Spices with phenolic hints.Ardbeg 1975 - Connoisseurs Choice - 43%
Cask:
Refill American Casks.
Colour:
Golden.
Nose:
Fruity (wine gums) followed by sweet oily, phenolic notes. Complex with peppery, leather and mahogany aromas.
Palate:
Salty followed by oily, herbal flavours, birchwood and a lingering peatiness.
Finish:
Sweet and phenolic.Ardbeg 1974 - Connoisseurs Choice - 43%
Bottled in 2003.
Cask:
Refill Bourbon Barrels.
Colour:
Bright gold.
Nose:
Sweet and medicinal, spicy with hints of smoked fish and crushed peppercorns.
Palate:
Sweet with salty notes - charred driftwood, seaside barbeques.
Finish:
Phenolic, oily.
Ardbeg 1973 - Connoisseurs Choice - 40%
Cask:
Refill American Hogshead.
Colour:
Yellow gold.
Nose:
Sweet and medicinal, maritime hints - driftwood & seaweed.
Palate:
Smooth and smoky with a creamy, oily texture.
Finish:
Phenolic, oily.INDEPENDENT BOTTLINGS FROM SIGNATORY
Ardbeg Vintage 1967 - Signatory - 30 year old - 52%
Bottled in 1997.
Cask:
Olorosso sherry.
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Ardbeg Vintage 1967 - Signatory - 30 year old - 49,8%
Bottled in 1997.
Cask:
Olorosso sherry.
Colour:
Nose:
Palate:
Finish: