Price: £39.00 - £36.95
(as of Nov 03, 2020 02:24:16 UTC – Details)

Established in 1815, Ardbeg is revered by connoisseurs around the world as among the peatiest and smokiest, yet most complex, of all the Islay malts. Despite its smokiness, it is renowned for its delicious sweetness, a phenomenon that has affectionately become known as ‘the peaty paradox’. Ardbeg’s home is the small, remote Scottish Isle of Islay (pronounced eye-lah). Known as the ‘Queen of the Hebrides’, Islay has an abundance of soft water, fertile soil and acres of precious peat – making it a prolific producer of distinctive, world-famous single malts. The Ardbeg Distillery perches by a rocky cove on the island’s wild and untamed southern coast. This is a land steeped in history. Celtic monks, raiding Norsemen, the Lords of the Isles, 19th century smugglers, they’ve all played their part in Ardbeg’s story. Islay’s dramatic past lives in the Ardbeg brand to this day. Ardbeg’s knot work and famous ‘A’ derive from our Celtic heritage, as seen in the 8th century Kildalton Cross which stands a few miles north of the Distillery. Ardbeg doesn’t behave like other whiskies – predictable or safe. Never has. Never will. Unorthodox and authentic to the core, it’s rooted in our island home and its people. Yet never stuck in the past. Ardbeg has been called “as close to perfection as makes no difference.”* Proof then that it deserves its reputation as The Ultimate Islay Single Malt Whisky. *Jim Murray – The Complete Book of Whisky

Matured for just 5 years, it’s the untamed ‘enfant terrible’ of the whisky world. Whereas most single malts seek smoothness & balance, we know more time in cask can subdue the smokiness.
ON THE EYES: Bright Gold (Auric).
ON THE NOSE: Fresh, herbal, hints of vanilla, pear, cracked black pepper & honey-glazed ham. Rich coffee, pine resin. With water, more herbal notes like vetiver & fennel, aniseed, apple & leather.
ON THE PALATE: A rich, explosive mouthfeel with lots of chocolate, tar, creosote and smoked bacon, followed by a burst of antiseptic lozenges, eucalyptus and more aniseed.
Alcohol content: 47.4 percent_by_volume
Item display volume: 700.0 milliliters