Ardbeg

SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > A

ARDBEG

19 years old

40 %
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1974
Bottled 1993
Trademark of Proprietors:
Ardbeg Distillery Ltd
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ARDBEG

22 years old

40%
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1974
Bottled 1996
Trademark of Proprietors:
Ardbeg Distillery Ltd
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ARDBEG

23 years old

40%
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1975
Bottled 1998
Trademark of Proprietors:
Glenmorangie pic
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ARDBEG

19 years old

40%
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1976
Bottled 1995
Proprietors: Ardbeg Distillery Ltd
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ARDBEG

23 years old

40%
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1976
Bottled 1999
Trademark of Proprietors:
Glenmorangie pic
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ARDBEG

21 years old

40 %
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1978
Bottled 1999
Trademark of Proprietors:
Glenmorangie pic
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ARDBEG

18 years old

56 %
CADENHEAD'S
AUTHENTIC COLLECTION

LAST BOTTLE AND EMPTY
Cask Strenght
Distilled 1975
Bottled December 1993
Not diluted
No chill filtration
No colouring
Wm. Cadenhead, 32 Unionstreet,
Campbeltown

ARDBEG

28 years old

53,2 %
VINTAGE 1967
'BLACK ARDBEG'
Distilled 15.2.67
Matured in a dark oloroso butt
Butt no. 574
Bottled 11.95
488 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

ARDBEG

28 years old

53,7 %
VINTAGE 1967
Distilled 15.2.67
Matured in a pale oloroso butt
Butt no 575
Bottled 11.95
548 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

ARDBEG

23 years old

51,2 %

LAST BOTTLE AND EMPTY
VINTAGE 1974
Distilled 22.3.74
Cask No. 1063 & 65
Bottled 8.8.97
386 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

ARDBEG

20 years old

43 %
VINTAGE 1974
Distilled 27.9.74
Cask nos. 4383
Bottled 5.95
220 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

ARDBEG

23 years old

43 %
VINTAGE 1974
Distilled 22.3.74
Cask Nos. 1059,60 & 62
Bottled 8.97
610 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

ARDBEG

8 years old

43 %
VINTAGE 1992
SIGNATORY 2000
SIGNATORY MILLENNIUM EDITION
Distilled on 19th March 1992
Cask Nos. 414-415
Bottled on 28th March 2000
Natural Colour
910 bottles
Signatory Vintage
Scotch Whisky Co, Ltd, Edinburgh

ARDBEG

11 years old

55,4 %
THE SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND
Distilled 1991
Cask no. 1176
Bottled 3-12-02
Proprietors: Glenmorangie pic
Speymalt WhiskyDistiller Ltd, Elgin

ARDBEG

TEN years old

46 %

The Ultimate
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
Non Chill - Filtered
Ardbeg Distillery Limited,
Isle of Islay, Argyll

Nose:

Exceptional balance and depth. At full strenght 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, general creaminess, fresh phenolic aroma of seaspray (iodine) and smoked fish. Hickory and coffee emergelater as the most volatile top notes fade.

Taste:

An initial moderate and clean sweetness is rapidly followed by a mouthful of deep peat notes, with tobacco smoke and strong espresso coffee, which then gives way totreacle sweetness and liquorice. The mouth feel is firstly lightly spiced (straingent), then chewing, mouthwatering, full and finally dry.

Finish:

Long and smoky. A smoky sweetness is left on the palate, with a crushed peat malted cereal character

ARDBEG

17 years old

40 %

The Ultimate
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
Ardbeg Distillery Limited,
Isle of Islay, Argyll

Nose:

The gentlest of peats, yet deep and confident with an enticing sweetness - a heady mixture of malts and vanillins. Vaguely salty and very complex with the oak present but very much in harness. Just a hint of bourbon and an even fainter hint of tangy orange to widen the spectrum.

Taste:

There is a much greater presence of the peat in the taste than the nose suggests. The smo-kiness quickly hits the palate then tapers off. That said, the middle shows an exellent chewy malt alongside a touch of cocoa.

Finish:

The peat returs and guarantees an enormously long finale. The taste of the malt clings on and hints of liquorice and dry toast are detected. This form of oakiness continues but never becomes sappy or too dry as the peat balances this out beautifully.

ARDBEG

29 years old

50 %
THE OLD MALT CASK 50o
A Single Cask Bottling
Distilled March 1972
Finished in Sherry Cask
- Minimum 6 Months
Bottled August 2001
432 bottles
No Chill Filtration
No Colouring
Douglas Laing & Co, Ltd, Glasgow

ARDBEG

27 years old

50 %
LAST BOTTLE AND EMPTY
THE OLD MALT CASK 50o
Single Cask Bottling
Distilled March 1973
Bottled July 2000
282 bottles
No Chill Filtration
No Colouring
Douglas Laing & Co, Ltd, Glasgow

ARDBEG

24 years old

50%
THE OLD MALT CASK 50o
Single Cask Bottling
Distilled October 1975
Bottled May 2000
713 bottles
No Chill Filtartion
No Colouring
Douglas Laing & Co, Ltd, Glasgow

ARDBEG

10 years old

50 %
THE OLD MALT CASK 50o
Single Cask Bottling
Distilled September 1990
Bottled March 2001
312 bottles
No Chill Filtration
No Colouring
Douglas Laing & Co, Ltd, Glasgow

ARDBEG

19 years old

43 %
THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY SELECTION
Distilled 27.9.74
Cask No. 4395
Bottled 6.94
300 bottles
Genummerde flessen
Van Wees, Amersfoort

ARDBEG

11 years old

55,6%
SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND
Distilled 1991
Cask no. 1182
Bottled 21-08-02
Proprietors: Glenmorangie pic
Speymalt Whisky Dist.Ltd, Elgin

ARDBEG

11 years old

55,8 %
SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND
Distilled 1991
Cask no. 1174
Bottled 12-11-02
Proprietors: Glenmorangie pic
Speymalt Whisky Dist. Ltd, Elgin.

ARDBEG

29 years old

43%
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1974
Bottled 2003
Trade Mark of Proprietors:
Glenmorangie pic.
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ARDBEG

UIGEADAIL

geen leeftijd vermelding

54,2 %
The Ultimate
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
Traditional Strenght
Non Chill - Filtered
Ardbeg Distillery Limited,
Isle of Islay, Argyll

Ardbeg 'Uigeadail' (pronounced Oog-a-dal) takes its name from the brooding, mysterious loch which provides the peat-laden water for Ardbeg. It is a special vatting of 1993 Ardbeg matured in bourbon barrels and many older sherry casks. The older casks bring luscious, sweet, raisiny tones to the unique Ardbeg taste.

Ardbeg 'Uigeadail' is non chill - filtered at traditional strenght which retains maxi¬mum flavour and gives more body and added dept. On adding water a little cloudiness may occur which is perfectly natural and is not a matter for concern

Nose:

The undiluted nose is deep and rounded - chocolate caramels and barley sugar combine with dates, raisins and smooth sherry notes. Later, you find leather and linseed oil. With water the sweetness gives way to malted honeycomb with flowering currants emerging through the smoky sweetness of a well-fired fruit pudding.

Taste:

Sweet, chewy and oily with a silky mouthfeel. The flavour is initially sweet, revealing fruit cake and treacle. This is followed by smoked, barbecued or honey-roast food with the slightest hint of olives.

Finish:

Again long, both sweet and dry with honey, treacle and a trace of lint

ARDBEG

6 years old

58,9 %

VERY YOUNG ARDBEG
Exclusive Committee Reserve
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
For Discussion...
Distilled 1997
Bottled 2003
Ardbeg Distillery Limited,
Isle of Islay, Argyll

Since the distillery re-opened in 1997 many entusiasts of Ardbeg have been keen to sample our 'work in progress'. We have therefore decided to release a limited quantity of Ardbeg at six years old exclusively for members of the Committee. This expression has been bottled at cask strenght, is non chill-filtered and is drawn entirley from 'first fill' casks.

The result is a young gristy Ardbeg doing well, which haralds a continuing bright; future for the Ultimate Islay Malt. Your comments are welcome!

ARDBEG

1975

23 years old

43 %
The Ultimate
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled 1975
Bottled 1998
Limited Edition
Ardbeg Distillery Limited,
Isle of Islay, Argyll

ARDBEG

1977

46 %
The Ultimate
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
Very Old Single Islay
Distilled 1977
Non Chill - Filtered
Limited Edition
Ardbeg Distillery Limited,
Isle of Islay, Argyll

Jim Murray: simple one of the greatest experiences, whisky or otherwise, of your life.

David Broom: stunner, immense, incredibly, long, you 'll it the next day 96 points

ARDBEG

1978

19 years old

43 %
The Ultimate
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled 1978
Bottled 1997
Limited Edition
Ardbeg Distillery Limited,
Isle of Islay, Argyll

ARDBEG

30 years old

40 %

Finest Islay
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Ardbeg Distillery Limited,
Isle of Islay, Argyll

After thirty years maturing on a wild shoreline, our weatherbeaten malt has come to be regarded as the Old Man of the Sea. Mellow and outstandingly smooth wihout losing any of its legendary stature

ARDBEG

8 years old 46 %

Distilled 1990
Cask Ref: MM 2998
Cask Type: Bourbon
Bottled June 1999
No Chill Fltration
No Colouring
Murray McDavid Ltd, Glasgow and London

For many years it was owned by our friends at Allied Distillers. Criminality allowed to languish in obscurity. Islay's greatest distillery was even closed bewteen 1981 and 1989. For several years we tried to persuade Allied to sell it - they finally agreed - but sadly not to us. Why Allied never did anything with this outstanding distillery remains one of the Scotch Whisky industry's greatest enigmas. Thankfully now, sailing under competent captaincy, we will all see more of this full, mellow, yet heavily peated aristocrat of a malt... Long live Ardbeg !

ARDBEG

over 9 years old

43 %
THE McGIBBON's PROVENANCE
AUTUMN DISTILLATION
Distilled Autumn 1990
Bottled Spring 2000
No Colouring
Not Chill Filtered
Douglas McGibbon & Co, Ltd, Glasgow

ARDBEG

11 years old

58,4%
SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND
Distilled 1990
Bottled 2001
Trademark of Proprietors:
Glenmorangie pic
Speymalt Whisky Dist. Ltd, Elgin

ARDBEG

25 years old

46 %

LORD OF THE ISLES
Single ARDBEG
Islay malt scotch whisky
the ultimate whisky experience

Ardeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay

The Ardbeg distillery lies on the most southerly part of islay on the rugged, wind blown shores of the Atlantic ocean. Of all the islay whiskies, it is Ardbeg which stands alone as the most delicate and complex. At 25 years old this supreme 'Lord of the Isles' expres-sion perfectly reflects Ardbeg's hall mark aroma's; a peaty complexity of wood smoke, -tarry rope and leather; all balanced by a delicate sweetness, a dram worchy of somerled hinself!

This rare old malt whisky is the supreme expression of Ardbeg, it has been slowly matured in oak barrel for twenty five years and non chill-filtered to retain maximum flavour. The lords of the isles ruled the western isles of Scotland from their 'council isle' on Islay from the 12th to the 15th century. The Celtic, norse warlord, somerled, founder of the lordship dynasty through his three sons dugall, ranald and angus was thus the progenitor of the two great clans od macdonald and macdougall.

The Ardbeg distillery was founded on islay in 1815 by John Macdougall.

Nose:

An exceptionally deep, rich and sweet nose: the sweetness of chocolate, marzipan and cherries, surrounding a deep and peaty centre. Cocoa and a rich maltiness are discovered woth layers of smoke and salt giving woodsmoke and saddle soap. Later, there is a hint of madarin fruit a gentle heather and lavender scent.

Taste:

Powerfully peaty and chewy with a luscious silky and oily mouth feel balanced by a mouth¬watering effect. The taste is initially sweet with vanilla and chocolate giving way rapidly to a crescendo of peat and cocoa.

Finish:

Finish is long and dry with chocolate malt, cocoa and crushed peat resting satisfyingly on the palate.

ARDBEG

6 years old

58,3%

VERY YOUNG ARDBEG
Committee approved
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled 1998
Bottled 2004
Non Chill - Filtered
Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay,
Argyll

This Very Young Ardbeg has been bottled at natural strenght, is non chill - filtered and drawn entirely from 'first fill' casks. The result is a vigorous Ardbeg on its path to full maturity, already packed full of flavour.

Since the distillery re-opened in 1997, many enthusiasts of Ardbeg have been keen to sample our work in progress - none more so than the worldwide aficionados of the Ardbeg Committee, formed to 'ensure that the doors of Ardbeg distillery never close again'.

It was to them that we released a limited bottling of Very Young Ardbeg to elicit their comments.

Such was their approbation that we have been emboldened to offer it to a wider audience so that other enthusiasts can monitor its path to 'full maturity', when it becomes our famed 10 years old.

Committee Approved.

ARDBEG

10 years old

59,9%

SINGLE CASK SCOTCH MALT WHISKY
Distilled May 94
Bottled Oct 04
Society Cask code 33.51
Outturn 293 Bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh

The name means 'small headland' in Gaelic and this distillery has graced the southeast coast of Islay since 1815. This sample, from a refill hogshead is the colour of buttercup shine under the chin. The nose is smoky, salty and oily (smoked Appiewood cheese, charred pizza base, pancetta and olive oil). Water takes us from the kitchen to the farmyard - cut hay and udder wash (don 't ask!) The neat taste is big, warm, smoky and sweet whilr water brings out grass, putty and oily engines, while maintaining its fine balance.

A rather mellow, culinary version of a big boy's whisky.

The Society selected and bottled this Cask code 33.51 of Ardbeg, specially for the members of the Benelux Society, so this whisky is not for sale anywhere else in the world.

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in the Benelux in October 1994.

ARDBEG

24 years old

57,6 %

KILDALTON
Lightly Peated
Bottled at Cask Strenght,
Distilled: 1980
Bottled: 2004 in Cask Strength
Limited Edition 1300 Bottles
'A very unusual experience'.

Of all Islay's whiskies it is Ardbeg which stands alone as the peatiest, yet the most deli¬cate and complex.

However, back in the far off says of 1980 an experiment took place when distillery manager Hamish Scott produced small batches of un-peated and lightly peated malt at the distillery maltings. Limited quantities of a very special whisky, christened KILDALTON, followed which we are now delighted to share as a 'one off experience'.

By removing the peat, the fruity flavours of the purifier on the still are brought to the fore along with the waxiness of the wooden washbacks and more of the grainy flavours of the barley itself.

Ardbeg aficionados around the world will no doubt savour this very unusual experience along¬side some of their favourite (and very peaty Ardbegs) and applaud the invention of those who worked at the distillery back in those far off days. The 8th Century Celtic Cross which stands in the graveyard of Kildalton Church, a short distance from the distillery, has been an inspiration to pilgrims down the centuries. It continues to inspire us at the distillery, and visitors to Islay, to this day.

Tasting Notes:

An exceptional whisky that brings the subtle complexitty and sweetness of Ardbeg to the fore.

Colour: Deep gold

Nose: An immensely sweet, fruity and floral expression of Ardbeg, this is a sensational example distilled from very lightly peated malt. On first nosing, the aroma is reminiscent of an orchard of oranges, peaches and apricots, with rose hip syrup and pineapples. On futher nosing, chocolate and hints of tea tree oil are detected with eucalyptus oil and simmering spices in the background. With water, the exceptional complexity oh this whisky is dicovered as the flavours open up revealing a myriad of sweet and subtle aromas:- at first, creamy vanilla makes a huge en¬trance and takes centre stage, swiftly followed by fruit and nut cake, hints of apricot syrup and later the etheral fragrance of balsamic oil and bergamot.

Taste: Sensationally smooth and syrupy on the palate, yje initial sip is sweet and full with a dessert—like mixture of honey, pineapple chunks and lashings of condensed milk topped with fresh cream. Later, layers of the subtle fruits evolve on the palate with hints of orange blossom, peaches and apricots followed by tingling spices and lightly drying chocolate powder.

Finish:

The finish is an intriguing mixture of slimmering spices, chocolate powder and cream.

ARDBEG

28 years old

43%
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Distilled 1975
Bottled 2003
Proprietors: Glenmorangie pic
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ARDBEG

10 years old

59,5%
SINGLE CASK
SCOTCH MALT WHISKY
Distilled May 94
Bottled Oct 04
Society Cask code 33.50
Outturn 383 Bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
'Lang may your lum reek'.

Shouts of joy echoed in the whisky,world when this distillery was reborn in 1997. Moans of delight may be heard in the member's room now that it has returned to the bottling list.

A refill hoggie has produced this very pale but bright dram. It has a rather maculine nose-peat smoke and pears, coal tar soap and silage. With water it is like well-worked plasticine on an autumn heath. The palate is powerful, with soot, tar and smouldering sticks -'like sticking your head up a chimney' someone said - but the sweetness balances it up perfectly.

ARDBEG

SERENDIPITY

12 years old

40 %
SUPREME BLENDED
MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Limited Edition

Serendipity

Blended malt born by mistake at Glenmorangie’sblending plant after some clever lateral thinking.

The Glenmorangie Company had no plans to produce this accidental blended malt; its creation arose from a mistake made in the blending hall at the company’s blending facility at Broxburn.

As a result of the error, Serendipity became a blend of Ardbeg and Glen Moray single malts, with Ardbeg making up most of the mix.

The result was a toned-down Ardbeg that Glenmorangie marketed as a ‘lighter taste of Islay’ bottled as a 12-year-old.

One production manager at The Glenmorangie Company described the creation of Serendipity as a disaster. Marketing manager Hamish Torrie had another view.

The mistake occurred in 2005 in the blending hall at Broxburn when a nameless operative dumped a large volume of 12-year-old Glen Moray into a much larger volume of older Ardbeg. However, Torrie decided to take advantage of the situation by releasing the accidental vatting as a limited edition expression he named Serendipity.

Some 16,000 bottles were produced – under the old Macdonald & Muir company name – which sold out very quickly at £39.99 per bottle. There are, however, a large number of bottles available at online auction sites, although their value has somewhat increased.

Serendipity was not the first large-scale blending error to have occurred at Broxburn. In 1999 a vat of Glenmorangie 21-year-old was accidently mixed with a smaller amount of another whisky. The mistake, which contained 80% Glenmorangie, was subsequently released as 80:20 by the company’s Douglas McNiven & Co. subsidiary

Tasting notes:

A whiff of fudge a very long nose

Colour:

Deep orange/gold

Nose:

Sweet, fruity and floral with hints of smoke. On first nosing, the aroma is reminiscent of the sweetness of a vanilla slice, followed by flowering currants and brambles, apricot syrup and figs, the scent of parma violets and a background of earthy/smoke tones. Rich chocolate notes simmer beneath the surface.

With water, the complexity of this whisky is discovered as the flavours open up, revealing a myriad of luscious soft and sweet aromas: - Highland toffee, chocolate limes and orange blossom emerge in between wafts of smoke. As the water mixes further with the whisky, rich malty notes are discovered revealing barley sugar, honeycomb and hints of almonds.

Taste:

Warming and tingly on the palate, the initial sip is sweet with a mouth-coating ef¬fect. The sweetness is detected as honeycomb, toffee and barley sugar dissolving on the tongue until smoke wafts into the centre of the palate bringing treacle and parma violets. The mouthfeel then becomes lightly drying with sugared almonds, chocolate powder and ground nutmeg resting on the palate.

Finish:

The finish is long with a curious mixture of sugared almonds, mint hunbugs and smoke, and vaguely fishy ?

SERENDIPITY

Someone must pay for this !

Now despite our veracious effotrs to be as upfront as possible, the harder hearted souls among you may still be alarmed to learn that a quantity of one's beloved Ardbeg has been calamitously transmogrified.

But let's be absolutely clear (not unlike the glass bottle this one-off whisky arrives in). At only £ 29,99 for this surprisingly pleasing expression, we believe - and hope you'll agree - that justice has prevailed.

We thought a pardon may be in 'Order'

Every order of Serendipity we receive will surely attest to the Committee's equitable appro¬val and lead th complete exoneration. Which is why we are asking the Committee to issue us with an official Pardon i.e. please sign the declaration when completing the order form, en¬closed.

Hush hush

Due to the extraordinary nature of events surrounding Serendipity, stocks are limited and thus, a speedy response is recommended. And while certain compulsory duties are aligned with the role of Committee Member - i.e. it is your mission to impart to the world 'all news Ardbeggian' - on this occasion however, we'd ask you to hold your tongue.

Well, at least until the whisky loosens it...

Technical note: Serendipity is 8 parts 'Very Old' Ardbeg with 2 parts Glen Moray

Thus it was that notorious day

We fused Ardbeg with neat Glen Moray

They weren't meant to mate

But it must have been fate

Cos everything turned out okay

The unforeseen but fortuitous union of two great single malts (you fd be forgiven for thinking it was deliberate) Macdonald & Muir Limited, Scotland

As we all know, mixing Ardbeg with anything other than water could be considered a mortal sin. But as the men who make it are-believe it or not- mere mortals, mistakes can happen. A recent such mix-up resulted in the creation of a supreme blended malt whisky made up of two parts of 1992 Glen Moray to eight parts of a very much older Ardbeg. At 40 %, chill-filtered and peaty, but with a refreshing lightness, it was a happy accident indeed. So we named it Serendipity (for surely it's a pity to waste it).

Serendi(pity) (pity to waste it!)

Noun. The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Origin 1754: coined by Horace Walpole, from The Three Princes of Serendip, the Sri Lankan fairy tale in which the heroes were always making fortunate discoveries.

Distillery Manager's note: the predominant Islay Malt, is subtly softened by the lighter tones of the Glen Moray. At the lighter strenght of 40 % and chill-filtered it is a rare opportunity for Ardbeg lovers and the uninitiated to experience a lighter taste of Islay.

ARDBEG

1978

27 years old

43 %
CONNOISSEURS CHOICE
Islay
Distilled 1978
Bottled 2005
Trade Mark of Proprietors:
Glenmorangie plc
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

ARDBEG

6 years old

56,2 %

SINGLE CASK
SCOTCH MALT WHISKY
Date distilled May 98
Date bottled Apr 05
Society Cask code 33.57
Outturn 779 Bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
'Stornoway black pudding

wrapped in Elastoplast'

Whisky connoisseurs heaved a sight of relief when this distillery was bought by Glenmorangie in 1997, since its previous owners, who also owned Laphroaig, had allowed the distillery to languish.

This sherry gorda is owned by the Society, and was selected on account of the exellence of its performance last fill: it has done a stupendous job this time. The colour is deep mahogany, the nose deeply mature, with treacle toffee and rich Stornoway black pudding ot the fore, backed by light medicinal phenols (fabric plaster). The flavour at full strenght is very powerfull - 'like eating an entire barbeque, charcoal and all'. Water brings up some sulphur, but this is soon replaced by fishing boats (swabbed down with Dettol), and then a return to treacle toffee. The flavour is smooth, sweet and smoky; a big heavy texture and a long finish, with lingering smoke and some maple syrup in the aftertaste. Amazing!

ARDBEG

6 years old

59,4%

SINGLE CASK
SCOTCH MALT WHISKY
Date distilled May 98
Date bottled Apr 05
Society Cask code 33.55
Outturn 262 Bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
'Young but devine'

The distillery nearest Kildalton (meaning 'the church of the disciple') has many disciples.

This light gold sample is from a first fill barrel. The nose is light and smooth with subtle smoke, salty sea breezes and the fragrance of pine needles and dill. Water brings woollen cassocks to the nose. The palate has initial sweetness, a touch of salt and big srnoke inthe finish. Especially with water there is a delicious balance of vanilla and icing sugar sweetness agaginst the fragrantly robust smoke. Young but devine - you could be on the Kildalton seashore or in Heaven - take your pick.

ARDBEG

9 years old

40 %

CONNOISSEURS CHOICE 1996
Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distillation Date: April 1996
Barrels Bottling Date: April 2005
Cask Type: Refill Bourbon
Trade Mark of Proprietors:
The Glenmorangie Company Ltd
Gordon & Macphail, Elgin

Rich and full flavoured with a sweet phenolic character, balanced with some spice and herbal notes and a salty edge.

Dramatically perched on the southern edge of the island of Islay, surrounded by treacherous seas and battered by strong winds, Ardbeg Distillery has produced one of the heaviest and peatiest malts likely to be encountered.

ARDBEG

1996

9 years old

53,1 %
SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled 1996
Cask no. 937
Bottled 1-9-05
Trade Mark of Proprietors: Glenmorangie plc
Speymalt Whisky Dist, Ltd, Elgin

ARDBEG

16 years old

46 %

AIRIGH NAM BEIST
ARDBEG - THE UNTAMED SPIRIT OF ISLAY
Limited 1990 Release
Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Bottled in The Year 2006
Non Chill - Filtered
Ardbeg Distillery Limited,
Isle of Islay, Argyll

(arry nam baysht)

The phonetic pronunciation of Airich Nam Beist which in the Gaelic language literally means 'shelter, or pasture of the animals'. It is also the name given to the small hill loch that forms the fulcrum between Loch Uigeadail and Charlie's Dam at Ardbeg Distillery.

Release The Beast...

The small hill loch at Airigh Nam Beist has a balancing role in delivering the peat-laden water of Uigeadail to the distillery. This perfectly sums up the balance and complexity in all Ardbeg, where the peatiness is tamed by the sweet alchemy of the Ardbeg distillation process.

Entirely drawn from very rare whisky stocks that were distilled and laid down in 1990 and aged in oak d !casks,

ARDBEG

2008

ALMOST THERE

54,1 %

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Ultimate Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled 1998
VERY YOUNG Bottled 2004
STILL YOUNG Bottled 2006
ALMOST THERE Bottled 2007
2008 TEN YEARS OLD
3 rd RELEASE BOTTLED 2007
Non Chill - Filtered

Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll

The Peaty Path to Maturity 1998 - 2008

Since the distillery re-opened in 1997, many enthusiasts of Ardbeg have been keen to sample our

work in pogress – none more so than the worldwide aficionados of the Ardbeg Committee, formed

to ‘ensure that the doors of Ardbeg distillery never close again’. It was to them that we released a

limited bottling of ‘VERY YOUNG’ Ardbeg for discussion and comment.

“Still Young” Ardbeg was bottled in 2006 and “Almost There” Ardbeg is now the third and final

limited release along the peaty road

ARDBEG

2008

RENAISSANCE

55,9 %
Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Ultimate Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled 1998
VERY YOUNG Bottled 2004
STILL YOUNG Bottled 2006
ALMOST THERE Bottled 2007
WE' VE ARRIVED Bottled 2008
Final Release Bottled 2008 RENAISSANCE
Non Chill - Filtered

Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll

ARDBEG

40 %

BLASDA
LIGHTLY PEATED
Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
THE UNTAMED SPIRIT OF ISLAY
Limited Release
Ardbeg Distillery Limited
Isle of Islay, Argyll

In Gaelic, Blasda means ‘sweet and delicious’ welcome to the lighter taste of Islay !

Blasda, ‘sweet and delicious’. Ardbeg may be famed for packing a peaty punch, but there is more to The Ultimate Islay Malt than meets the eye 9or indeed nose or tastebud). To prove

it, we undertook an experiment: to tame our usual mighty peating level and allow Ardbeg’s

‘lighter’qualities to shine. The happy result is Blasda, which in Gaelic means ‘sweet and

delicious’

Blasachd, ‘a tasting’. So how does a lightly peated Blasda compare with the peatiest of all

Islay malts, Ardbeg 10 years old ? With the peating level tamed to an average of only

8 parts per million phenol; (8 ppm) in the bottle. Blasda unmasks the delicious sweetnes of

sherbet vanilla, chocolate limes and the ethereal floral fragrance that in inherent in all ex-

pressions of Ardbeg

Blasdagraich, ‘smacking your lips’. Here at Ardbeg, we like to serve Blasda as an aperitif.

before the main event that is Ardbeg 10 years old. Wherever you are in the world, join us

for a Blasda at 8 ppm and enjoy the lovely, lip – smacking, lighter taste of Ardbeg

Blasphemy ?What have we done? In taming the peat to 8ppm and, inusually for Ardbeg,

bottling it ‘chill – filtered’ at 40 % ABV, some might say we have challenged Ardbeg’s

most sacred truths. But when the result is so light, sweet and delicious,

ARDBEG

Aged 10 years

57,2 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Society Single Cask No. 33.72
THE ANNIVERSARY 25 YEARS
1983 - 2008
Distilled May 1998
Cask type 1st Fill barrel / Ex Bourbon
Outturn 255 Bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
'Mellow treat'

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been passed

under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a Society

bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our

members are selected, true to our motto: ‘To leave no nose upturned’

A real treat. The full strength nose is medicinal and harbour – like with burning heather.

Sweet with water, but earthy. The palate is cool with oomph; Fisherman’s friends, saccharin

and latte. Water brings chimney soot and rich fruit.

This Islay distillery ceased its production in 1981. Happily in 1997, this beautiful malt began

to flow again. One whiff of this and the Panel knew they were in a treat ! The nose at full

strength was medicinal and harbour – like as well as burning heather. With water it was sweet

and sharp but earthy. There was also pipe tobacco in the nose. The palate was sweet and cool

but had an oomph. It had Fisherman’s friends, saccharin and latte in the aftertaste

With water there was chimney soot and a rich fruit mix. It appeared to be more rounded and

integrated with water. A mellow version of a peated legend

ARDBEG

Aged 10 years

57,8 %
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Society Single Cask No. 33.73
THE ANNIVERSARY 25 YEARS
1983 - 2008
Distilled May 1998
Cask type 1st Fill Sherry Gorda
Outturn 782 Bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
'An entire meal - and more !

Gorda, oak Butt, 600 liter inhoud.

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch malt Whisky inside this bottle has been passed

under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a Society

bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members are slected, true to our motto: ‘To leave no nose upturned’

The nose is a menu of caramelised onions, burnt toast, hot – smoked salmon and lemon. Also

antiseptic and smoke. A rich palate; cinder toffee, heather smoke and walnut whip. Water

brings a pistachio, macadamia and coconut nose, sweet smoke and ashes to the palate.

We were contemplating the nose – someone mentioned cheap lipstick, the lady – chef was

going on about damp woolly socks (again) – when the polevaulter said ‘this is making me

hungry’. Sure enough, it communicated caramelised onions, burnt toast, hot – smoked salmon

toffee and lemon cheesecake – an entire meal ! We also found antiseptiv and smoke. The

palate was exceptionally rich with cinder toffee, heather smoke and walnut whip in the finish

The reduced nose had grapefruit, sticky toffee pudding, pistachio, carob and coconut, while

the sweet – but – tannic palate contained golden syrup, leather cleaner, smoke and ashes.

A mouth – watering dram from the southeast corner of Islay.

ARDBEG

STELLAR RELEASE

58,9 %

SUPERNOVA
THE ULTIMATE ISLAY
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
THE UNTAMED SPIRIT
OF ISLAY
Non chill - filtered
Limited Release

Ardbeg Distillery Limited,

Supernova, bottled at high strength and non chill – filtered, is the peatiest Ardbeg

ever with a peating level well in excess of 100 parts per million.

This is a limited release, previously discussed (at length) with the Ardbeg Commit-

tee – the true heroes of Ardbeg’s meteoric rise to peaty power

Supernova, bottled at high strength and non chill – filtered, is the peatiest Ardbeg

ever with a peating level well in excess of 100 parts per million.

This is a limited release, previously discussed (at length) with the Ardbeg Commit-

tee – the true heroes of Ardbeg’s meteoric rise to peaty power

The Peatiest Ardbeg ever !

The Ardbeg Distillery lies on the most southerly part of Islay and on the rugged shores

of the Atlantic Ocean

Just outside Port Ellen, on the road to Ardbeg , there is an ancient standing stone; the

remains of a prehistoric observatory built by our ancestors to track the movement of

the stars and planets across the sky. But could they have predicted that, one day, an

even greater star would be born ?

Gazing up at the stars in the dark Islay skye, we reflected on Ardbeg’s dazzling repute-

tation as the best whisky on Earth

Which got us thinking about earth. Or more specifically, peat…. What if we could cre-

ate the peatiest Ardberg ever ? Would it be possible for all that peat to shine, without

overpowering the galaxy of deliciously complex yet subtle Ardbeg flavours ?

Welcome then to Ardbeg Supernova, where the full, peaty punch of this legendary dis-

tillery is brought alive in an exceptional and limited release. Ardbeg has long held its

reputation as the peatiest, most complex and balanced of all the Islay whiskies, whilst

Supernovae are one of the most powerful, heavenly phenomena known to man – an en-

tirely apt description therefore, for what the foryunate few can anticipate in every glass

Techical Wizardry

Our boffins, who measure and calculate everything, used something called H P L C,

(High Perforance Liquid Chromatography0 to measure the peatiness of this very rare

Ardbeg in infinitesimally precise amounts. After much test tube bubbling they told

us what our taste buds had already suspected, that this mighty Ardbeg has a staggering

peatiness level well in excess of 100 parts per million – way beyond the customary

heavy peat levels foun din our famed Ardbeg Ten Years Old. Supernova thus perfectly

describes this ‘Stellar explosion’ of flavours

Flavour

Constellation

Deep Gold

Salt Explosion

Smoke

Hot

Big

Sizzling

Flowering Currants

Gristy Sensations

Powerful

Peaty Punch

Barbecue

Peat Oils

Cigar Smoke

Deep Herbal

Peat Moss

Earthy

Tarry Ropes

Peaty

Long

Coffee

Deep

Blast of Brine

Poweful

Warm & Drying

Spritely Display

ARDBEG

1976

over 31 years old

52,4 %
SINGLE CASK
Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
CASK STRENGHT
Date Cask Filled: 4 Nov 1976
Cask No: 2397
Cask Type: Sherry Butt
Date Bottled: 10 June 2008
Numbered Bottles
Output: 519 Bottles
Signature: Michael Head, Distillery Manager

Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll

Tasting Notes Cask No. 2397:

Colour: Deep golden

Aroma:

Ardbeg at its most paradoxial – powerful and pungent, yet displaying a degree of delicacy and

balsamic freshness. At full strength, dark chocolate is filled with cherry brandy and infused with tarry peat smoke. Marzipan, toffee and vanilla mingle with rum and raisin ice cream; then the sweetness is sliced through by pungent black peppercorns, fennel and the salty – balsamic complexity of menthol, pine resin and sea spray. Barbequed bananas, cinnamon –

spiced pears and caramalised walnuts bring sizzling warmth and deep maturity.

With water, waves of classic Ardbeg notes emerge, fused with juicy malt, luscious fruits

and oily nuts: tarry ropes, briny sea – salt and fresh zesty limes battle it out against blueberry

pie, spiced plum skins and weighty crushed sultanas. Creamy honey, treacle toffee and hazel-

nuts collide with pinesap, cedar and iodine. Espresso and cream simmers bin the background.

Taste:

Rich and oily with an intense burst of smoked berry fruits, treacle and juicy malt. The taste is

initially deep and powerful as an avalanche of mouthwatering baked blueberry pie, dried

apricots, dates and plums deepens and rolls over the tongue, drizzled with treacle and sprink-

ling of peaty – demerara sugar. A mouthful of Macchiato coffee and clotted cream rises to

a crescendo bringing a robust and earthy warmth, before a wave of briny – iodine, powdery

violets and walnut oil freshens then dries the palate with lingering tarry espresso.

Finish:

Long, spiced, oily and salty with spiced blueberry, treacle, sun – dried raisins and walnut oil.

Dr. W.B. Lumsden, Master Distiller

ARDBEG

Aged 10 years

56,6 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Distilled May 1998
Cask type: 1st Fill Sherry Gorda
1 of only 497 bottles
Society Single Cask No. 33.74
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults,
Leith, Edinburgh
"A dirty dram for Mary Poppins"

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been passed

under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a Society

bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members are selected, true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned”

The nose has Deep Heat, menthol and plum jam. The palate swoops and dives with coal – tar

and chimneys at full strength, but toffee and smoke with a sherry and raisin finish in reduction. Water brings sweetness to the nose – puff candy and sticky – toffee pudding.

The Vault – maniac said it cleared his sinuses ! Others found Deep Heat, menthol and seaweed; the nose then developed plum jam and prunes. The magnificient unreduced palate

had sweet parma violets, smoke and coal – tar. “Like licking an ashtray” someone said,

while the manager called it “A Dick van Dyke chimney –sweep’s dram”. Water promoted

sweetness on the nose – puff candy, stick – toffee pudding and vanilla, with Fruit ‘n Fibre

and tobacco pouches. The palate became toffee and smoke with dried fruit and sweet sherry

in the finish. The distillery draws water from Loch Uigeadail and the whisky swoops and dives in the mouth.

ARDBEG

Aged 10 years

56.3 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Distilled May 1998
Cask Type: First Fill Barrel
1 of 242 bottles
Society Single Cask No: 33.76
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults,
Leith, Edinburgh
"A civilized scout camp"

Over – ripe melon to start, soon swamped by charred wood and carbolic soap, with barbecued

pineapple. Fireworks and space dust to taste. Water brings hemp roses, toasted bananas and a

sweet, salty taste, with smoke and dark chocolate in the finish

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been passed

Under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a Society

bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members

are selected, true to our motto:” To leave no nose upturned “

A full – on example of the make ! Rich fruitiness (over – ripe Gallia melon) is soon swamped

by charred wood and carbolic soap. “Parma ham on a charred stick”, “barbequed pinapple chunks”

The taste at full strength is surprisingly sweet and salty, then an explosion – Wow ! – like a com-

bination of fireworks and space –dust. Water brings on the boy – scouts: hemp ropes and canvass,

but also barbequed banana with dark chocolate. The taste, reduced, is still sweet but not so salty,

with wafts of smoke, “like someone’s clothes when they’ve been sitting by a bonfire, and dark

(70 % cocoa) chocolate in the aftertaste. Think Kildalton, you got it !

ARDBEG

CORRYVRECKAN

57.1 %

THE ULTIMATE ISLAY SINGLE
MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Not for the Faint Hearted !
THE UNTAMED SPIRIT OF ISLAY

Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll

Ardbeg – not for the Faint Hearted !

The Ardbeg Distillery lies on the most southerly part of Islay and on the rugged shores of the

Atlantic Ocean

To the north of Islay and Jura is the world’s second largest whirlpool, the famous Corryvreckan,

This thunderous, seething cauldron is named after the Viking Prince Breacan, who apparently met

his watery end there, proving his devotion to the daughter of the Lord of the Isles

Spinnning a different tale…

This is the legend of Corryvreckan, but not as you have heard it before. Here on Islay we spin a

different tale, beginning with the same threads but its ending not yet woven. You remember Breacan,

the Viking prince who fell in love with an Islay princess and was challenged to prove his devotion

by surviving three nights in Cailleach’s whirlpool. The brave suitor sailed into the perilous mael-

strom, but by one the three ropes which he carried to anchor his vessel were puled asunder

Thus, says the legend, Breacan perished beneath the whirlpool that now bears his name: the time has come Corryvreckan. But it is not so ! For Cailleach Bheare, the ancient goddess who guards the

whirlpool, chose life for the prince and took him to her watery lair, where he has sleeping, in dark

silent stillness. Now the time has come for her to return him to us. What form will he take? We do

not now, yet we are dawn towards it. Fearing it, yet daring ourselves to see it. Powerful and dangerous. A terrfying spectacle… A wild, untamed spirit….

Ardbeg Corryvreckan is a heady and powerful expression. Swirling aromas and torrents of deep

peaty, peppery taste lurk beneath the surface of this beautifully balanced dram. It is the epitome

of Ardbeg, ‘the untamed spirit of Islay

ARDBEG

Aged 11 years

55.4 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Distilled May 1998
Cask Type: First Fill Barrel
1 of 198 bottles
Society Single Cask No: 33.78
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults,
Leith, Edinburgh
"Leaves little flickering fires"
spoorloos of leeg

ARDBEG

Aged 10 years

56.4 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Society Single Cask No. 33.86
Distilled Sept.1999
Cask Type: 1st Fill Barrel
Outturn: 243 bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Hot N Cold"

The nose evokes a fusion of hot and cold (chocolate mint, jalapeno pepper, smoke and

menthol); water brings beeswax, citronella, patchouli and vanilla. The hot neat palate

( chillies in dark chocolate, spicy spare ribs) changes with water to citrus – spiced tea,

ozone and mint.

The nose was a fusion of contrasts: dark chocolate Kendal mint cake and jalapeno

pepper, hot smoke and cool menthol, clean swimming pool and dirty coal dust. The

neat palate was big, hot and peppery – chillies in dark chocolate, hot and spicy

blackened Cajun spare ribs with Tabasco sauce, drying out to leave coal smoke into

the long finish. The nose with water softened (like taming Yogi bear someone said)

revealing beeswax and fragrant citronella with patchouli incense and creamy vanilla.

The reduce palate was like citrus – spiced tea – with cinnamon and cloves, lemon

and ginger tea. Ozone cleansed the palate whilst more water brought a powdered

chalkiness. This distillery on the southern shore of Islay was mothballed between 1981

and 1989.

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the must scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release

as a Society bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and

delight our members are selected, true to our motto”To leave no nose upturned”.

ARDBEG

SUPERNOVA

60.1 %

THE ULTIMATE ISLAY SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY
S N 2 0 1 0
Limited Release
Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll

Back by populair demand, this 2010 limited release has a deeper, earthier character

With the same phenomenal peatiness as the 2009 edition.

ARDBEG

Guaranted

10 years old

46 %

Ardbeg Distiklery Limited, Isle of Islay

ARDBEG

Aged 10 years

57.6 %
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH
WHISKY FROM A SINGLE CASK
Society Single Cask No. 33.87
Distilled February 2000
Cask Type: 1st Fill Barrel
Outturn: 255 bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Mossy Mohito"

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle

has been passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and

approved for release as a Society bottling.Only single cask whiskies that

promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members are selected true to

our motto:” To leave no nose upturned”

The nose was balanced, multi – layered and full of flavor collisions: soot with

fresh peach and elderflower: damp moss, grilled trout and lemon; pine needles,

pathchouli and ash. The neat palate fused sweetness and smoke – fresh tobac-

co leaves , hot spices and soot; earthy and perfumed smoke. Addition of water

revealed more sweetness with juicy peaches and zesty limes. The, the contrasts

of birch tar, plasticene and clean ash appeared to provide smoky depth and

intensity. The reduced palate became juicy, salty and herbal – Kendal mint

chocolate with mossy lime mohito, and coal dust lingering in the bachground.

From the ‘litte head – land’ distillery near Kildalton.

ARDBEG

Age 8 years

57,5 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Distilled October 2001
Cask Type: 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel
1 of 234 Bottles
Society Single Cask No: 33.92
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults,
Leith, Edinburgh
"Earth daughter"

We the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for

releases as a Society bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members

are selected, true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned”

Dried peat, singed heather and bog myrtle, with fresh citric and mineral notes behind.

The phenols in the taste are more earthy than smoky; green tea and jasmine tea at

reduced strength, with lemon and lychees.

Behind the first impression of dried peat, singed heather and bog myrtle, are fresh

citric notes and mineral bath salts, becoming smoky after a while, in the mouth

the phenols are more earthy than smoky, after a sweet, acidic and salty start – war-

ming, Water freshens it even more, introducing lemon and lychee notes; behind this

“a damp boathouse on a lake surrounded by woods” – but vital overall, not flat.

Sweetness and lemony acidity now dance across the tongue with lightly smoked

green tea, and jasmine tea in the finish.

This is a lightly peated expression of a usually heavily peated malt from Islay’s cult

distillery.

ARDBEG

Aged 11 years

46 %
CHIEFTAIN's SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY
LIMITED EDITION COLLECTION
Islay
Distillation date: june 1998
Wood type: Barrel
Cask number: 1778
Bottling date: March 2010
Number of bottles: 276
Unchill - Filtered
Natural Colour
Ian MacLeod Distillers Ltd, Scotland

ARDBEG

Age 10 years

55,9%

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Distilled August 1999
Cask Type: Refill Butt / ex sherry
1 of 626 Bottles
Society Single Cask No: 33.93
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults,
Leith, Edinburgh
"Tarry peppermint tea"

Vanilla fudge then Coal Tar soap and fragrant smoke. Densely sweet to taste, with

salt, green sticks and charcoal, and a cooling mintiness which becomes morapparent when water is added – like tarry peppermint tea

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for

releases as a Society bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members

are selected, true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned”.

Vanilla fudge is soon overwhelmed by Coal Tar soap – “a light breeze of fragrant smoke wafting over carbolic”- and later charcoal. Tasted at natural strength, we

discerned a “dense sweetness”then green sticks and charcoal sticks, and a fresh

clove- or toothpaste-like mintiness. Water places it “down on the farm”- perhaps

in a stable canvas, hemp rope and mature horse manure (according to one).

The texture is soft and smooth, the taste sweet and lightly salty, with smoke in the finish and tar in the aftertaste, but also a fresh, cooling effect “like peppermint tea”

A mild example of an unusually pungent malt, made at the northern – most end of

Kildalton Parish.

ARDBEG

Age 5 years

60.8 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Date Distilled: 20 Dec 2005
Cask Type: 2 Fill Sherry Butt
Outturn / One of only 252 Bottles
Society Single Cask No: 33.112
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith
"Powerful, elegant and atmospheric"

We, the tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for re-

lease as a Society bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members

are selected, true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned”.

The nose, with its peat smoke and bog myrtle, evokes Islay – also beeswax, chocolate

tar and carbolic; water brings pine resin, citrus, lobster and chorizo.

The palate attacks with powerful, outhful energy; birch tar, toffee, leather and grilled

crab – just stunning.

Youthful, powerful – yes – but also elegant and atmospheric – the nose seemed quin-

tessentially Islay – peat fire smoke and bog myrtle – as well as chocolate, beeswax,

salty earthiness, tar and carbolic.

The unreduced palate had a tongue – shriveling attack, yet with amazing toffee sweet-

ness; birch tar and waxy textures.

Water altered the nose to combine seafood saltiness, herbal, pine resin and citrus ele-

ments and something savoury (someone suggested lobster and chorizo).

The reduced palate evoked lobster or crab from the grill, some leather, plenty of sweet-

ness and a juicy, outhful energy – we thought it stunning.

From the distillery that Glenmorangie re – awakened in 1997.

ARDBEG

Age 11 years

55,6 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Distilled August 1999
Cask type: Refill Butt / ex Sherry
Outturn: 1 of 468 Bottles
Society Single Cask No: 33.109
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
“Delightful intensity of sherry and smoke “

We, the Tasting Panel verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this botlle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for

release as a Society bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue,

entertain and delight our members are selected, true to our motto: “ To leave no

nose upturned “.

The varied nose offers maple syrup, honey, ginger , cassis, leather, heather, sherry

and burnt toast.

Water adds barbecued pork, and lavender. The intense palate combines sherry and

smoke, but also has roasted chestnuts, scorched heather, parma violets and coffee

dregs.

There seemed to be a bit of everything on the nose – maple syrup, caramel and

honey, pear and blackcurrant, ginger, sherry, heather, leather, mushrooms compost

and burnt toast.

The unreduced palate was a delightful intense combination of sherry and smoke, with

roasted chestnuts, scorched heather, parma violets and smoething earthy, like a

dunnage warehouse floor.

The reduced nose held our interest, with barbecued pork, smoked fish, charred nuts

and lavender fudge.

The palate now had coffee cup dregs, lavender soap and a curious jelly after taste.

The distillery, at the end of the Kildalton Road , has three pagoda roofs.

ARDBEG

Aged 13 years

55.2 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

FROM A SINGLE CASK Distilled October 1997

Cask Type: Second Fill Barrel / ex Bourbon of only 223 Bottles

Society Single Cask 33.102

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"Smoked porcine"

We, the Tasting Panel verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a

Society bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members are

Selected, true to our motto: “ To leave no nose upturned “.

Sweet and savoury – maple syrup drenched smoky bacon, hot smoked pork fat, lavender honey, pulled pork, and with maritime character of fish boxes, anchovies, dune grass, sardines on toast and salt pans.

This is a well balanced dram.

With dune grass, peat reek, hot smoked pork fat, thyme, smoked bacon & banana sand –wich ( on wholemeal toast ) and fish boxes the Panel were transported in various places

some were on Islay, some were just on the beach, others were in heaven.

Smooth, smoky, and savoury to taste maple syrup drenched smoky bacon, salted whisky

fudge, and smoked lavender honey.

Diluation increased the maritime characteristics with saltpans, sardines on toast and an -

chovies, although there were pear skins and star fruit.

Extra `oomph ` on the palate now with smoked crystallized lavender and pulled pork

from a hog roast.

ARDBEG

Aged 11 years

55.7 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Distilled August 1999
Cask Type Refill Butt / ex sherry
1 of only 538 Bottles
Society Single Cask: 33.104
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"An Algerian café"

We, The Tasting Panel verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been passed

under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release as a Society

bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members are

selected, true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned “.

Rich aromas evoke Algerian cafès – tobacco, coffee, vanilla, almonds, wood smoke,

sultanas and figs, with water, chocolate, citrus and gamey wild boar.

The palate, even smokier, has salty almonds, tar, raisins, cocoa and honey, turning sweeter

And spicer with water.

The rich combination oof aromas seemed to evoke an Algerian cafè – tobacco, coffee, vanilla, liquorice, almonds, wood smoke, sultanas and figs.

In the mouth, the smoke seemed to loom larger, with salty almonds, tar, raisins, cocoa

and honey behind it.

The reduced nose had chocolate, citrus and spicy B B Q smoke, with something gamey,

like hunting pheasants or wild boar on the forest floor.

The reduced palate was lighter and fresher, but with the delicious sweetness of toffee

and honey, intens tar, smoke and spice (ginger cake, five – spice taste powder) to

liven it up.

The distillery draws water from Loch Uigeadail

ARDBEG

Aged 7 years

59.6 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Distilled July 2003
Cask Type: First Fill Barrel / Ex Bourbon
Society Single Cask No. 33.101
Outturn One of 245 Bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh.

“ Fabulous , thigh – slapping smoke “

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for re-

lease as a Society bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members

are selected true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned “.

The nose has pineapple, flower meadows, sea breezes, toffee and fruity sweets; with

water it finds tar and honey on toast.

The palate has whacking amounts of smoke , sherbet lemons, caramel and straw – less complex with waterbut still delicious.

The nose (neither young nor fierce) had the freshness of pineapple, flowe meadows

and sea breezes, with light toffee, fruity sweets , Love Hearts and midget gems.

The palate was an instant wake – up fabulopus thigh –slapping smoke, but with com –

plexity too – soft caramel, creamy toffee, straw, sherbet lemons, burnt lemon peel –

beautifully complex for its age.

On the reduced nose we found distant tar, tinned apricot on slabs of slate and honey

on buttered toast.

The reduced palate was more straightforward than before but still delicious and very

drinkable; sweet, citric, tar and brine.

From the last distillery on the Kildalton Road.

ARDBEG

ALLIGATOR

51, 2 %

THE ULTIMATE ISLAY SINGLE MALT
SCOTCH WHISKY
UNTAMED RELEASE
RARE LIMITED RELEASE
Non Chill – Filtered
Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll
Ferocious ‘Alligator’ charring of new American white oak casks has created a spicy,

dark dram of hidden depths, within which lurk deep tarry coffee, barbeque sizzle

and sooty aromas.

You are entering Alligator country…

In the deep south of Islay, a dark new inhabitant is ready to emerge. In silent darkness

it has lain captive within warehouse number 3, brooding and untamed. Now it is ready

to be released into the wild, with a unique spicy bite that íl catch you unavares.

A breed unlike any other seen before at the Distillery, Ardbeg Alligator is an expression

that will prove a challenge to the unvary and test the palate of even the most hardened

Ardbeg adventurer.

Lurking within is an Ardbeg of hidden depths. Extremely fierce charring of the oak cask

gives Ardbeg Alligator a unique spicy bite that’ il catch you unavares. Charge your

glass with a splash of water and roll it around and around in your jaws!

Long Nose: Warming signs of cumin and barbeque sauce

Big Taste: Hot and spicy flavours grip you, ginger and chocolate thrash

Deep Finish: Slow and long mocha espresso while cigar smoke ebbs.

Stirring beneath eucalyptus and menthol it broods, mahogany in spices, biding its time

before the sudden rush takes hold, springing forth with ginger snaps, chewy steak and overpowering in waves of smoke. Now it subsides, slow and satisfied, sinking back deep

and down into peat.

Ardbeg Alligator. Tread carefully.

ARDBEG

SPACE 1 9 9 9

49 %

ARDBEG GALILEO
CELEBRATING ARDBEG' s FIRST
EVER EXPERIMENT IN SPACE
EXPLORING SPACE
THE FINAL FRONTIER
THE ULTIMATE ISLAY SINGLE
MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
Distilled in 1999
Bottled in 2012
Ardbeg Distillery, Isle of Islay, Argyll

In the headlong rush of science in the late autumn of 2011, a rocket ship blasted off this

earth at 25.000 mph. Deep within it, no ordinary cargo, for the rocket carried research

vials of precious Ardbeg - crafted molecules, the beginning of a fascinating first in re –

search experiment by Ardbeg in …… space!

This is the most audacious adventure ever undertaken by Ardbeg Distillery ( or any other distillery for that matter). Ardbeg have been invited by U S based space research company

NanoRacks L L C to take part in an experiment to test this micro organic compounds in a

maturation experiment ( the interaction of these compounds with charred oak) between

normal gravity on Earth and micro – gravity,” far up in space on the International Space

Station. The vials contain a class of compounds known as “terpenes” a set of chemicals

which are very widespread in nature and often very aromatic and flavor active. The expe –

riment could explain the workings of these large, complex molecules as they will remain

on the International Space Station for at least tow years and help us uncover new truths

about the change that these molecules undergo in this near ‘ zero gravity’ environment.

The experiment will have applications for a varity of commercial and research products

including perhaps, one day, future generations of ARDBEG. Working is close collaboration

with the ARDBEG Distillery team in Scotland, the team will closely monitor the experiment

against control samples here on earth, both in Houston, Texas at the NanoRack’s facility

and more familliary, in Warehouse 3 at ARDBEG distillery on Islay!This historic step will

allow us to reach out to other scientic bodies across Scotland ( and the world) led by ARD-

BEGS’s own renowed distilling and chemistry expert, Dr. Bill Lumsden, with regular updates

on progress at Ardbeg.com However, what goes up must go down, and ARDBEG is destined

to go down well whatever the atmosphere. So when the experiment successfully lands back

on our own planet, join us and your fellow peaty – earthlings in saluting this momentous

ARDBEG GALILEO – let’s celebrate! To celebrate this research initiative, please welcome a

very unusual and very limited ARDBEG, aptly named ARDBEG GALILEO. At its heart ARDBEG

GALILEO is hallmark 1999 ARDBEG which has been matured in classic ex – bourbon barrels

and some ex – Marsala casks from Sicily. The result is a deep golden, rich and smoky ARDBEG

Bottled at a strength of 49 % it is non chill – filtered for extra texture and mouthfeel.

Celebrate Ardbeg’s Ultimate Journey into Space !

1 September 2012

Ardbeg Islay Malt Whisky labceert vandaag haar nieuwste Limited Edition ter ere van de

deelname aan een uniek experiment in de ruimte. Deze expressie is een eerbetoon aan

galileo Galilei, een van de grondleggers van moderne atstronomie.

Ardbeg Galileo is een speciale vatting van verschillende stijlen Ardbeg whisky die te rijpen

zijn gelegd in 1999. Het hart van de Galileo is spirit gerijpt in ex – Marsala wijnvaten uit

Sicilie.

Dit is gecombineerd met Ardbeg ‘klassieke stijl’, gerijpt in 1st fill en 2nd fill ex – bourbon

vaten. Het resultaat is een 12 jaar oude van 49 % A B V, non – chill filtered, met een zoetig

en rokerig karakter. De Marsala – vaten zorgen voor fruitige aroma’s en texturen in Ardbeg’s

befaamde geturfde en rokerige huisstijl.

De whisky genoemd naar een sleutelfiguur in de moderne astromie, viert Ardbeg’s deelname

aan een baan brekend experiment. Eind 2011 is de distilleerderij gevraagd door nanoRacks L L C. een ruintevaartonderzoeksbureau in Houston, texas om deel te nemen aan een uniek ex periment. Geen enkele andere distilleerderij heeft dit eerder gedaan. Op 11 Oktober 2011

is de Soyuz raket vertrokken naar het Internationaal Space Station I S S met aan boord 4 test

tubes. In houston en in warehouse 3 van de Ardbeg distillerderij op Islay liggen de controle

tubes, zodat de rijping bij normale zwaartekracht op aarde en rijping bij micro – zwaarte-

kracht op het I S S vergeleken kunnen worden. Dit wordt gedaan door micro – organische deeltjes uit de Ardbeg new make spirit in de test tubes te laten reageren met deeltjes van

de eikenhouyten vaten die Ardbeg gebruikt voor de rijping.

De tubes bevatten deeltjes die bekend staan als ‘terpenen’ een chemisch element dat veel

voorkomt in de natuur en dat vaak zeer aromatisch en ‘ flavour active ‘is. Het experiment

zal minimaal duren en hopelijk meer inzicht bieden in de werking van deze grote, complexe

moleculen. Daarnaast kan het Ardbeg helpen bij het vinden van nieuwe chemische bouw-

stenen in het eigen smakenspectrum. De resultaten van het experiment kunnen toegepast worden in een scala aan commerciële en onderzoeksproducten waaronder dus wellicht ooit

toekomstige whiskies van Ardbeg.

Dr Bill Lumsden Director of Distilling. Whisky Creation and Whisky Stocks reageert: “So

far, so good – het experiment in live gegaan in Januari 2012 toen de wetenschappers

de barriere tussen de twee componenten doorbraken. Het zal nog zeker een jaar duren

voor de eerste resultaten zichtbaar zijn, maar in de tussentijd willen wij het experiment

vieren met de introduktie van Ardbeg Galileo. Onze eigen aardse bijdrage in de ruimte’.

De whisky uit 1999 is apart gelegd kort na de overname van de distillerderij door Glenmorangie Company en de voorraad beslaat ook maar uit enkele duizenden vaten.

Kleur: Diep amber

Geur: Op volle sterkte ruik je roet en teer, pittige toffee, popcorn en vleugjes van rijpe

tropische vruchten zoals banaan, mango, perzik en lychee. Met iets water opent het

geurpalet zich met frisse antiseptische aroma’s en een hint van zeewind.

Smaak: Stevige, olieachtig, zoete, romige fudge, gerookte romige abrikozen ,rijpe

Banaan, specerijen zoals kaneel, kruidnagel en ook wat anijs.

Afdronk: Rokerig, zoet, lang nablijvend met tropische vruchten.

ARDBOG

52,1 %

THE ULTIMATE SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

THE UNTAMED SPIRIT OF ISLAY

At least 10 years old Matured in Manzanilla sherry casks

Non Chill - Filtered

Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll

Islay’s peaty earth has yielded much: Mesolithic flints, arrowheads from 4000 – 2500 BC,

bronze axes, gold brooches and the greatest prize, a leaf – shaped bronze sword, the same

deep ochre colour of ARDBEG itself. The weapon was said to have been thrust into its

earthly resting place 3000 years befor, in honour of the man who yielded it.

Surely hidden still, are hordes of historical treasures. But it is the spirits we release from

the peat that will gift us the essence of true and ancient Islay – in every sip of ARDBEG.

And that is the greatest treasure of all.

ARDBEG THE UNTAMED SPIRIT OF ISLAY.

Cut 3 foot into the bog ansd you’ll have dug 1000 years in the past. Dig deeper and you’ll

discover peat formed from prehistoric vegetation – the essence of Ardbeg.

Bronze sword unearthed near Oa – the cutting edge in clan warfare fashion 3000 years

ago.

Eons have passed, continents have collided, oceans have drifted on fiery mantles. From ship

wrecks to T – Rex, who knows what lurks beneath?

See a penny, dig it up’, and all day you’ll have to clean off the muck. Silver coin board dating

from 1635 found buried at Ardnave.

Make mine a double…Silver, bronze and gold were found in a ‘ His & Hers’ Viking grave on Islay.

Where woolly mammoths once roamed, Woolly hill sheep and Committee Members now

flock here.

Underboot you may well find the skull and crossbones of smugglers and pirates who perished whilst plying their illicit trade.

A fessilised monster footprint, found near Airgh Nam Beist.

Ancient crustacean – believd to be a very early member of the Clan MacDougall, forefathers

of Ardbeg’s founders.

ARDBEG is renowed as the peatiest, smokiest and most complex of all of Islay’s whiskies.

In ARDBEG we celebrate our peaty roots in the marshy wetlands of Islay. ARDBEG’s smoky

sweetness has been intriguingly interwoven with salty, savoury whiskies which have slumbered undisturbed in rare ex – Manzanilla sherry casks, all for at least ten long years

ARDBEG

Aged 11 years

56.1 %
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
FROM A SINGLE CASK
Date distilled: 30TH April 2002
Cask type: 2ND Fill Barrel ex Bourbon
Society Single Cask no: 33.130
Outturn: One of only 242 bottles
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,
The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh
"The Farmyard and the Chip Shop"

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for re-

lease as a Society bottling.

Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight our members

are selected, true to our motto: “TO LEAVE NO NOSE UPTURNED “.

The panel divided into two camps. Malt in hessian sacks, silage, tomatoes and compost

versus fish and chips and lobster pots in the other. Coal buckets and barbeque smoke.

Blankets with mothballs and laundry day at the beach

This presented two distinct scenarios which had the panel scratching collective heads.

Malt in hessian sacks, sillage, tomatoes and compost in one camp. Fish and chips, in

paper, oyster shells and lobster pots in the other.

Vanilla pods and apple chutney and some tropical fruits popped up.

Then the Islay personality roared into action with coal buckets, Germoline and barbeque

smoke.

With waterit remined one of a cedarwood chest of blankets with mothballs and another

of laundry day at the beach.

A curious creamy mouthfeel of peach yoghurt left the panel scratching their heads to the

Last drop.

ARDBEG
Established 1815
47.4 %
PERPETUUM
1 8 1 5 - 2 0 1 5
The Ultimate Islay Single Malt
Scotch Whisky
Ardbeg Distillery Limited
Isle of Islay, Argyll

Here’s to the next 200 years. A never ending, rich and enticing combination of

classic Ardbeggian notes and incredibly creamy flavours.

Times change . Ardbeg remains. The past, present and future in a glass….Classic

of Ardbeg’s yesteryear on the nose as mellow, Rich and enticing Ardbeggian flavours

mingle with dark chocolate, Treacle and Nutty oak. Then like standing on Ardbeg’s

pier this morning, water brings forth briny sea – spray with a Pine Resin lime top

note for a remarkably Fresh Bouquet. On the palate Robust Peat smoke and savoury

Smoky Bacon meet creamy Sweet Vanilla, milk chocolate with the hint of Sherry

Casks culminating in a taste of the future… an aftertaste that is never ending..

Celebrating 200 years of Ardbeg.

200 years is a long time. But not in whisky years. If one year equals 7 years in Shortie’s

life, Ardbeg only ages every 10 years. Se we’re still a young pup and there’s plenty of life

in the old dog yet. Yet who could have known back in 1815 that two hundred years later

Ardbeg would still be made in the same place, from the same ingredients, in the same way.

Today everyone at Ardbeg knows that Ardbeg – both the place and the whisky – will endure

for the next 200 years. So on this momentous occasion, our 200th Anniversary, we raise a glass

to the past, the present and the future safe in the knowledge that there will never be

a robot that could take the place of the people who made Ardbeg. We pledge Ardbeg will

never be automated or simulated. Only over celebrated…

no synthetic nose or tastebuds will ever come close to replicating the skills of our whisky

creators and no man – made machine will ever be capable of producing man – made

whisky because times change but Ardbeg remains which is why….

ARDBEG

TEN YEARS OLD

46 %

WAREHOUSE

The Ultimate Islay Single malt Scotch Whisky

Non Chill – Filtered

Sea spray. Terry rope,. Immense smoky intensity

Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll

ARDBEG

Est 1815

AN OA

46,6 %

The Ultimate Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Smoky, Sweet, Singularly rounded

Non Chill – Filtered

Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll

“Unquestionably the greatest distilley tob e found on earth.

If perfection on the palate exists this is it”

Jim Murray’s “The complete book of whisky”.

The Ardbeg Distillery lies on the most southerly part of Islay on the rugged shores of the

Atlantic Ocean.

Ardbeg Distillery is subject to fierce winds, driving rain and eerie coverings of mist.

These weather conditions would be more extreme were it not fort he shelter of the Mull

of Oa. The Distillery is sheltered from the harsh excess of the mighty Atlantic by the

rounded Oa, the inspiration fort he outstanding Ardbeg An Oa.

Like the peninsula that shares its name, Ardbeg An Oa is particularly rounded, due in no small part to time spent in the gathering vat. Here we marry together whisky from

several different casks, including new charred oak, PX sherry and first fill bourbon. Here

they beca,e fully familar with each other.

The result is a dram with smoky power, mellowed by a delectable, smooth sweetness.

Hallmark Ardbeg peat, dark chocolate and aniseed are wrapped in smooth, silky

butterscotch, black pepper and clove, before rising to an intense crescendo of flavour.

ARDBEG

Aged 7 years

60,5 %

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

FROM A SINGLE CASK

Society Single Cask No.33.85

Distilled Nov.2002

Cask type: 2nd Fill Barrel / ex Bourbon

Outturn 215 bottles

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society,

The Vaults, Leith, Edinburgh

“Amazing for its age”

The nose is quite meaty (smoked sausage, five – spice pork) with polished wood,

leather and bananas rolled in ash; water brings Plasticine, lemon and biltong. The

palate is earthy and spicy (smoked haddock, tar, ash, scorched heather) but sweet

(Liquorice Allsorts)

We, the Tasting Panel, verify that the Scotch Malt Whisky inside this bottle has been

passed under some of the most scrupulous noses in the world and approved for release

as a Society bottling. Only single cask whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and

delight our members are selected, true to our motto: “To leave no nose upturned”.

The nose had a decidedly meaty character, smoked sausage and caramelised five –

spice pork – yummy! – and the feast was spread on a polished wood table ( we

also found new leather jackets and bananas rolled in ash) The unreduced palate

assailed our tongues with earthy, spicy flavours of smoked haddock, tar, ash and

fresh tarragon; strawberry coulis sweetness lurked behind. The reduced nose pro-

duced Plasticine, lemon and biltong, while the sweetness on the palate swelled

to ash – flavoured fondant and Liquorice. Allsorts with scorched heather. We

thought it quite amazing for its age. Gavin D. Smith has written a book about the

distillery

ARDBEG

Est 1815

WEE BEASTIE

Guaranted 5 years old

47.4 %

The Ultimate Islay Single Malt

Scotch Whisky

Non Chill Filtered

A Monster of a Dram

Young and intensely SMOKY with a rich explosive mouthfeel of CHOCOLATE

TAR and SAVOURY MEATS cracked by BLACK PEPPER and sappy PINE EESIN

on the SNOUT

Ardbeg Distillery Limited, Isle of Islay, Argyll

Wreaking Flavour in its Path

There are plenty of things in the world that cannot be fully explained.

One such pecullarity has emerged from the peat bogs of Isaly. Said to

be a feisty young creature, witnesses have spoken of its formidable bite.

Senses are heightened with each encounter. First comes an intense aroma

of cracked black pepper, mingling with sappy pine resin and the sharp tang

of smoke. Suddenly, the explosive mouthfeel bursts forth with chocolate,

creosote and tar. Savoury meats sink into the palate, before the long salty

mouth coating finish slinks away.

At just 5 years old the legendary smokiness of Ardbeg is untamed by age revealing the inner beast of this Islay icon.

ARDBEG

SWEET, SMOKY

Distillery lies on the most southerly part of Islay on the rugged shores of the

Atlantic Ocean.

Ardbeg Distillery is subject to fierce winds, driving rain and eerie coverings of mist.

These weather conditions would be more extreme were it not fort he shelter of the Mull

of Oa. rounded Oa, the inspiration fort he outstanding Ardbeg An Oa.

Like the peninsula that shares its name, Ardbeg An Oa is particularly rounded, due in no

several different casks, including new charred oak, PX sherry and first fill bourbon. Here

they beca,e fully familar with each other.

The result is a dram with smoky power, mellowed by a delectable, smooth sweetness.

Hallmark Ardbeg peat, dark chocolate and aniseed are wrapped in smooth, silky

butterscotch, black pepper and clove, before rising to an intense crescendo of flavour.

Port Ellen, Islay, Argyll. Licentiehouder: Ardbeg Distillery Ltd.

Sinds 1798 was de familie MacDougall actief als boeren op grond te Ardbeg, Airigh nam Beist en de helft van Lagavulin. Er werd toen ook al gedistilleerd, maar hoofdzakelijk voor eigen gebruik.

Het commercieel distilleren nam een aanvang in 1815 toenJohn MacDougall, financieel gesteund door Thomas Buchanan Jr, koopman te Glasgow een distilleerderij begon.

In 1835 was de produktie ongeveer 2260 liter spirit per jaar.

In 1838 verleende Walter Frederick Campbell, de landeigenaar, een pachtovereenkomst voor de Ardbegboerderij en distilleerderij, en 8000 vierkante meter grond voor zeven en vijftig jaar aan Thomas Buchanan Jr, het bedrag was £ 1800.

John's zoon Alexander, die de handelsnaam voerdeAlexander MacDougall & Co. Alexander raakte later invalide en zijn zuster Margaret werd mede licentiehouder.Colin Hay, de zoon van de koetsier van Walter

Frederick in1853 werd Flora, de zuster van Margaret partner.Tijdens het leiderschap van Colin Hay groeide Ardbeguit tot een kleine gemeenschap van ongeveer 200 mensen.

Colin Hay werd de alleen eigenaar na de dood van de zusters Margareth en Flora. Colin Hay had twee zoons, waarvan Colin distillateur werd en Walter dokter, en ook aandeelhouder in de distilleerderij.

De Buchanan's waren nog steeds financieel betrokken bij Ardbeg.

Barnard, die Ardbeg bezocht in 1886, nam waar dat Ardbeg toen een wash still had van 18.160 liter, een spirit still van 1362 liter en men met 60 man personeel, 1135 miljoen liter per jaar produceerde !

In 1888 werd een nieuwe huurovereenkomst verleend aan Alexander Wilson Gray Buchanan en Colin Hay, met het recht gebruik te maken van de pier te Ardbeg. De huur van de pier was £ 100.

Colin Hay stierf op 10 Februari 1899.

In 1902 werd Alexander MacDougall & Co een limited company. In 1922 werd Ardbeg gekocht voor £ 19000, inclusief het land van Captain Iain Ramsay, de landeigenaar, die in financiële moeilijkheden was geraakt £ 9000 werd kontant betaald, de rest zou in gedeeltes worden betaald, maar door de heel moeilijke tijd toen, werd in 1927 het bedrag verminderd tot £ 5000 en in 1932 geheel afgeschreven.

In 1959 werd Ardbeg Distillery Ltd gevormd, gevolgd door Ardbeg Distillery Trust in 1973, met als deelnemers The Distillers Company Ltd (D.C.L) en Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd.

Distillery operating hours:6 days/week,

24 hours/day

Number of employees: 13 full-time;

2 part-time; 8 seasonal

Water source: Loch Uigeadail

Water reserve: est 55 million gallons

Water colour: brown

Peat content of water: trace

Malt source: Port Ellen

Own floor maltings: no

Malt type: Optic

Malt specification phenols:

average 54 ppm

Finished spirit phenols:

average 23-24 ppm from May 1998;

16-17 ppm previously

Malt storage: 70 tonnes

Mill type: Boby, installed 1881

Grist storage: 5 tonnes

Mash tun construction:

stainless steel, semi-lauter

Mash size: 4,5 tonnes

First water: 17.500 litres at 64o C

Second water: 8.000 litres at 82o C

Third water: 17.500 litres at 90o C

Number of washbacks: 6

Wash construction: Oregon pine

Wasback charge: 23.500 litres

Yeast: Mauri cultered yeast

Amount of yeast: 75 kg per washback

Lengt of fermentation: 65-68 hours

(shorts: week):96 hours (longs: weekend)

Initial fermentation temperature: 20o C

(16o C idfa Fridays)

Strenght of wash: 8 per cent abv

Number of wash stills: 1

Eash still built: 1974

Wash still capacity: 18.279 litres

Wash still charge: 11.700 litres

(64 per cent of capacity)

Heat source: steam coil with heating pans

Wash still height: 12 feet 3 inches (3.73 m)

Wash still shape: lamp-glass

Lyne arm: very gently rising

Lenght of low-wines run: around 5 hours

Low-wines collection range:

46 per cent abv - 1 per cent abv

Number of wash stills: 1

Wash still built: 1974

Wash still capacity: 18.279 litres

Wash still charge: 11.700 litres

(64 per cent of capacity

Heat source: steam coil with heating pans

Wash still height: 12 feet 3 inches (3.73 m)

Wash still shape: lamp-glass

Lyne arm: very gently rising

Lenght of low-wines run: around 5 hours

Low-wines collection range:

46 per cent abv - 1 per cent abv

Number of spirit stills: 1

Spirit still built: 2001

Spirit still capacity: 16.957 litres

Spirit still charge:

13.660 litres (81 per cent of capacity)

Strenght of spirit still charge: 25 per cent abv

Heat source: steam coil with heating pans

Spirit still height: 12 feet (3.66 m)

Spirit still shape: lamp-glass

Lyne arm: gently rising

Purifieryes

Condensers:

two, externally sited, containing 238 tubes

Lenght of foreshot run: around 10 minutes

Lenght of spirit run:around 5 hours 15 minutes

Lenght of feints run: around 3 hours 30 minutes

Spirit cut: 73 per cent abv - 62.5 per cent abv

Distilling strenght:

69.5 per cent abv - 70.5 per cent abv

Storage strenght: 63.5 per cent abv

Average spirit yield:

402.1 litres of pure alcohol per tonne of malt (2003)

Disposal of pot ale and spent lees

to local contractors for spreading on farmland

Type of casks filled for branded malt:

50 per cent first-fill bourbon (chiefly

ex-Jack Daniels air-dried wood, barrels rather than

hogsheads); 50 per cent second-fill bourbon

(same origins); very little sherry;

futher finishes and experiments in hand

Current annual output: 950.000 litres of pure alcohol

Number of warehouses:

5 (numbered 3, 9, 10, 10 X and 11)

Type of warehouses dunnage:

(3, 9, 10 X); racked (10, 11)

Storage capacity on Islay: 24.000 casks

Percentage of branded malt entirely:

100 per cent at present. In future all branded malt

aged on Islay will spend at least 10 years on Islay

Vatting and bottling location: Broxburn

Distillery expressions: 10 year old, 17- year old,

Uigeadail, Lord of the Isles (25- year old)

Vintage-dated bottling, Ardbeg committee bottlings,

Major blending roles: Ballantyne's, Teacher's,

Black Bottle

In 1977

werd Hiram Walker de alleen eigenaar, voor £ 300.000.

In 1982

werd Ardbeg gesloten met een verlies van 18 banen.

Tussen 1982 en 1989 werd Ardbeg verbouwd en

toen verdween ook de mouterij.

In 1989

Ardbeg opened again with only two month production

a year till 1996 when ardbeg was closed again

There was a great inconsitency in stock, duing a

longer time: some cask from the 60s and 70s,

little from the 80s, many casks from the 90s and

Bill Lumsden tried to buy whatever he could

from Allied, Diageo, William Grant and others.

In Maart 1997 verkoopt Allied Domecq Ardbeg aan Glenmorangie Plc voor £ 7.000.000, inclusief merknaam en voorraad.

Glenmorangie Plc heeft enorm geinvesteerd in Ardbeg. Naast het op de markt brengen van de verschillende bottelingen heeft men ook de distilleerderij zelf grondig onder handen genomen .

Men beschikt nu over een lunchroom, congresruimte en een bezoekers centrum met winkel. Dit alles is gevestigd in de oude mouterij No. 1 waar vroeger in twee kilns de gerst werd gedroogd.

In de toekomst wil men ook zelf weer gaan mouten.Ardbeg heeft twee met stoomverhitte ketels met een kapaciteit van ongeveer 600.000 liter spirit per jaar

De gebruikte vaten zijn sinds de overname doorGlenmorangie Plc, Amerikaanse refill Bourbon vaten, afkomstig van Heaven Hill en Makers Mark. Het koel- en proceswater komt van de Loch Uisgeadale en Loch Iaran. De mout komt van Port Ellen Maltings.

Ian Henderson was de manager van Ardbeg tot in 1997 toen Edwin Dobson afkomstig van Glen Moray, manager werd.

De Mash tun is 4 ton.

De zes Wash backs zijn groot 28.000 liter.

De Wash stills is groot 21.000 liter,

de Spirit still 17.000 liter.

Edwin Dobson, de eerste manager na Henderson van Ardbeg, en een soort wegbereider werd opgevolgd door Stuart Thomson. De toekomst van Ardbeg werd onzeker in 1978 toen Hiram Walker en Allied samen gingen. Men bezat nu twee distilleerderijen op Islay: Ardbeg en Laphroaig. Ardbeg was gesloten van 1981 tot 1989. Gedurende 1989 - 1996 was Ardbeg jaarlijks twee maanden in bedrijf.

Toen in 1997 Ardbeg werd aangekocht door Glenmorangie plc was de distilleerderij in een staat van verval. Glenmorangie ging toen ook de verplichting aan jaarlijks 150.000 liter Ardbeg te leveren voor de blends Ballantines en Teachers. Ardbeg produceerde maar een paar maanden in 1997.

De staat van de distilleerderij was zo siecht dat als gevolg van technische Problemen de produktie moest worden gestaakt van October 1997 tot April 1998.

£ 3,5 miljoen investeerde Glenmorangie in reparaties

en herstel, alleen het bezoekerscentrum vroeg al een bedrag van £ 750.000. 0p 28 Juni 1997 kwam er voor het eerst weer whisky uit de ketels van Ardbeg.

Ardbeg gebruikt voor het distillatie- en koelingproces ongeveer 700.000 liter water per week.

Brand owned by: Glenmorangie Plc

Manager: Stuart Thomson

Production: 18.000 litres pure alcohol per week

Share used for single malt: Half of total production;

the rest is sold for blending, though this may change

Degree of peating: 50 ppm compared to Laproaig's 35 ppm

Water source: Loch Uigedale, three miles from the distillery

Peculiarities of wash still:It has a purifier on the lyne arm

which captures the heavier more impure alcohols and brings

them back to the still for further distilling.

This explains the complex character of Ardbeg.

Wood: Ex-bourbon casks

Shorty: a Jack Russell terrier, is the dog at Ardbeg.

1975

Delicate nose but pungently peaty on the palate, big and robust with hints of oak

1978

Oak on the nose with traces of bourbon against a peaty background. Well-balanced on

the palate with floral traces and refined oak.

PROVENANCE

Peaty, bourbon nose, plenty of smoke; palate big with smoke tar, chocolate and cocoa,

long memorable finish.

17 YEARS OLD

Peaty and sweet on the nose with hints of bourbon. Smoky peat with good balance and a

hint of orange choclate.

ARDBEG

1794 Er wordt melding gemaakt dat op de plek waar in 1815 de Ardbeg distilleerderij

zou worden gebouwd

1815 Ardbeg wordt gesticht door John MacDougall

1853 Na de dood van Alexander MacDougall, de zoon van John, nemen zijn zusters,

distillery for that matter). Ardbeg have been invited by U S based space research company

NanoRacks L L C to take part in an experiment to test this micro organic compounds in a

maturation experiment ( the interaction of these compounds with charred oak) between

normal gravity on Earth and micro - gravity," far up in space on the International Space

Station. The vials contain a class of compounds known as "terpenes" a set of chemicals

which are very widespread in nature and often very aromatic and flavor active. The expe -

riment could explain the workings of these large, complex molecules as they will remain

on the International Space Station for at least tow years and help us uncover new truths

about the change that these molecules undergo in this near ' zero gravity' environment.

The experiment will have applications for a varity of commercial and research products

including perhaps, one day, future generations ofARDBEG. Working is close collaboration

with the ARDBEG Distillery team in Scotland, the team will closely monitor the experiment

against control samples here on earth, both in Houston, Texas at the NanoRack's facility

and more familliary, in Warehouse 3 at ARDBEGdistillery on Islay!This historic step will

allow us to reach out to other scientic bodies across Scotland ( and the world) led by ARD-

BEGS's own renowed distilling and chemistry expert, Dr. Bill Lumsden, with regular updates

on progress at Ardbeg.com However, what goes up must go down, and ARDBEG is destined

to go down well whatever the atmosphere. So when the experiment successfully lands back

on our own planet, join us and your fellow peaty - earthlings in saluting this momentous

ARDBEG GALILEO - let's celebrate! To celebrate this research initiative, please welcome a

very unusual and very limited ARDBEG, aptly named ARDBEG GALILEO. At its heart ARDBEG

GALILEO is hallmark 1999 ARDBEG which has been matured in classic ex - bourbon barrels

and some ex - Marsala casks from Sicily. The result is a deep golden, rich and smoky ARDBEG

Bottled at a strength of 49 % it is non chill - filtered for extra texture and mouthfeel

ARDBEG SPACE GALILEO

Celebrate Ardbeg's Ultimate Journey into Space !

September 2012

Ardbeg Islay Malt Whisky lanceert vandaag haar nieuwste Limited Edition ter ere van de

deelname aan een uniek experiment in de ruimte. Deze expressie is een eerbetoon aan

Galileo Galilei, een van de grondleggers van moderne atstronomie.

Ardbeg Galileo is een speciale vatting van verschillende stijlen Ardbeg whisky die te rijpen

zijn gelegd in 1999. Het hart van de Galileo is spirit gerijpt in ex - Marsala wijnvaten uit

Sicilie.

Dit is gecombineerd met Ardbeg 'klassieke stijl', gerijpt in 1st fill en 2nd fill ex - bourbon

vaten. Het resultaat is een 12 jaar oude van 49 % A B V, non - chill filtered, met een zoetig

en rokerig karakter. De Marsala - vaten zorgen voor fruitige aroma's en texturen in Ardbeg's

befaamde geturfde en rokerige huisstijl.

De whisky genoemd naar een sleutelfiguur in de moderne astromie, viert Ardbeg's deelname

aan een baan brekend experiment. Eind 2011 is de distilleerderij gevraagd door nano Racks L L C.

een ruintevaartonderzoeksbureau in Houston, texas om deel te nemen aan een uniek ex periment.

Geen enkele andere distilleerderij heeft dit eerder gedaan. Op 11 Oktober 2011

is de Soyuz raket vertrokken naar het Internationaal Space Station I S S met aan boord 4 test

tubes. In houston en in warehouse 3 van de Ardbegdistillerderij op Islay liggen de controle

tubes, zodat de rijping bij normale zwaartekracht op aarde en rijping bij micro - zwaarte-

kracht op het I S S vergeleken kunnen worden. Dit wordt gedaan door micro - organische deeltjes

uit de Ardbeg new make spirit in de test tubes te laten reageren met deeltjes van

de eikenhouyten vaten die Ardbeg gebruikt voor de rijping.

De tubes bevatten deeltjes die bekend staan als 'terpenen' een chemisch element dat veel

voorkomt in de natuur en dat vaak zeer aromatisch en ' flavour active 'is. Het experiment

zal minimaal duren en hopelijk meer inzicht bieden in de werking van deze grote, complexe

moleculen. Daarnaast kan het Ardbeg helpen bij het vinden van nieuwe chemische bouw-

stenen in het eigen smakenspectrum. De resultaten van het experiment kunnen toegepast worden

in een scala aan commerciële en onderzoeksproducten waaronder dus wellicht ooit

toekomstige whiskies van Ardbeg.

ARDBEG SPACE GALILEO

Dr Bill Lumsden Director of Distilling. Whisky Creation and Whisky Stocks reageert: "So

far, so good - het experiment in live gegaan in Januari 2012 toen de wetenschappers

de barriere tussen de twee componenten doorbraken. Het zal nog zeker een jaar duren

voor de eerste resultaten zichtbaar zijn, maar in de tussentijd willen wij het experiment

vieren met de introduktie van Ardbeg Galileo. Onze eigen aardse bijdrage in de ruimte'.

De whisky uit 1999 is apart gelegd kort na de overname van de distillerderij door Glenmorangie

Company en de voorraad beslaat ook maar uit enkele duizenden vaten.

The Ardbeg distillery lies on the most southerly part of islay and on the rugged shores

of the Arlantic Ocean.

Release the peat in the spirit…

Islay is an antique land, where Celtic monks found refuge from raiding Norseman and

early distillers smuggled their illicit 'agua vitae' at ARDBEG'S rocky cove. Where the

Lords of the Isles ruled from Loch Finlaggan between 1130 and 1493 - the clan kings

whose bloodline continued through the MacDougalls ofARDBEG, the founders of our

Malted barley is harvested and dried in smoke from burning peat turfs carved from this

ancient land, locking the peating levels into the whisky. The peat of Islay entombs the

deep and primeval spirit of this place. So to fully understand the story of ARDBEG you

have to dig a little deeper.

Stand on Islay peat bogs and under your feet lie thousands of years history. The peat

that is the essence of ARDBEG embodies a heady mix of life and death and everything

in between.

For to dig into the peat is a travel back in time. Down and down. To when clans fought

and ruled. And Viking treasures were lost and trodden into the yielding ground+ until

you reach the remains of vegetation, last walked upon before the first century.

Release the spirit in the peat…

Our forefathers and their forefathers toiled to ´win´ the peat to dry the barley, to make

our whisky. ARDBEG is born on peat and the deep, marshy bogs which give such com/

pelling flavours to all things Islay. ARDBEG´S classic smoky, but sweet, whisky has been

intriguingly interwoven with salty, savoury whiskies, rare drams which have slumbered

undisturbed for at least ten long years in rare Manzanilla sherry casks. The end result is

a whisky of great depth and maturity, but one which also displays ARDBEG´S captivating

complexity.

ARDBOG

Islay's peaty earth has yielded much: Mesolithic flints, arrowheads from 4000 - 2500 BC,

bronze axes, gold brooches and the greatest prize, a leaf - shaped bronze sword, the same

deep ochre colour of ARDBEG itself. The weapon was said to have been thrust into its

earthly resting place 3000 years befor, in honour of the man who yielded it.

Surely hidden still, are hordes of historical treasures. But it is the spirits we release from

the peat that will gift us the essence of true and ancient Islay - in every sip of ARDBEG.

And that is the greatest treasure of all.

ARDBEG THE UNTAMED SPIRIT OF ISLAY.

Cut 3 foot into the bog ansd you'll have dug 1000 years in the past. Dig deeper and you'll

discover peat formed from prehistoric vegetation - the essence of Ardbeg.

Bronze sword unearthed near Oa - the cutting edge in clan warfare fashion 3000 years ago.

Eons have passed, continents have collided, oceans have drifted on fiery mantles. From ship

wrecks to Silver coin board dating from 1635 found buried at Ardnave.

Make mine a double…Silver, bronze and gold were found in a ' His & Hers' Viking grave on Islay.

Where woolly mammoths once roamed, Woolly hill sheep and Committee Members now flock here.

Underboot you may well find the skull and crossbones of smugglers and pirates who perished whilst plying their illicit trade.

A fessilised monster footprint, found near Airgh Nam Beist.

Ancient crustacean - believed to be a very early member of the Clan MacDougall, forefathers ofArdbeg's founders.

ARDBEG is renowed as the peatiest, smokiest and most complex of all of Islay's whiskies.

In ARDBEG we celebrate our peaty roots in the marshy wetlands of Islay. ARDBEG's smoky

sweetness has been intriguingly interwoven with salty, savoury whiskies which have slumbered undisturbed in rare

ex - Manzanilla sherry casks, all for at least ten long years

Water: Loch Iarran, Loch Uigeadail

Mash tun: 1 x 4 tonnes

Washbacks: 6 x 28000 litres

1 wash still x 21000 litres

1 x spirit still x 17000 litres

Output: 600.000 litres

Ardbeg Supernova flavoured from space

September, 2015

The Glenmorangie Company has released a new expression of Ardbeg, its Islay single malt scotch whisky, following an experiment to investigate how micro or zero gravity would affect the flavour of whisky.

The company says the experiment began in October 2011 when vials of new make Ardbeg distillate and shards of Ardbeg casks were sent to the US National Lab on the international space station by the distillery's partner, US space research company, NanoRacks.

The vials orbited Earth at 17,227 miles an hour for nearly three years.

Glenmorangie/Ardbeg's director of distilling and whisky creation Dr Bill Lumsden then analysed them alongside control samples. He said: "When I nosed and tasted the space samples, it became clear that much more of Ardberg's smoky, phenolic character shone through - to reveal a different set of smoky flavours which I have not encountered here on Earth before."

Further analysis, looking at ratios of types of wood extractive compounds showed differences between the two sets of samples, which the company says shows that gravity has an effect of maturation.

So, the distillery has released what it describes as its final bottling of Ardbeg Supernova (non-chill filtered, bottled at 54.3% abv, £124.99) exclusively to its loyal following, the 'Ardbeg Committee' (120,000 in more than 130 countries). It is said to contain the most highly peated Ardbeg, said to provide an "intensity reminiscent of the exploding star after which it is named".

Here's to the next 200 years. A never ending, rich and enticing combination of classic Ardbeggian notes and incredibly creamy flavours.

Times change . Ardbeg remains. The past, present and future in a glass….Classic

of Ardbeg's yesteryear on the nose as mellow, Rich and enticing Ardbeggian flavours

mingle with dark chocolate, Treacle and Nutty oak. Then like standing on Ardbeg's

pier this morning, water brings forth briny sea - spray with a Pine Resin lime top

note for a remarkably Fresh Bouquet. On the palate Robust Peat smoke and savoury

Smoky Bacon meet creamy Sweet Vanilla, milk chocolate with the hint of Sherry

Casks culminating in a taste of the future… an aftertaste that is never ending..

Celebrating 200 years of Ardbeg.

200 years is a long time. But not in whisky years. If one year equals 7 years in Shortie's

life, Ardbeg only ages every 10 years. Se we're still a young pup and there's plenty of life

in the old dog yet. Yet who could have known back in1815 that two hundred years later

Ardbeg would still be made in the same place, from the same ingredients, in the same way.

Today everyone at Ardbeg knows that Ardbeg - both the place and the whisky - will endure

for the next 200 years. So on this momentous occasion, our 200th Anniversary, we raise a glass

to the past, the present and the future safe in the knowledge that there will never be

a robot that could take the place of the people who made Ardbeg. We pledge Ardbeg will

never be automated or simulated. Only over celebrated…

no synthetic nose or tastebuds will ever come close to replicating the skills of our whisky

creators and no man - made machine will ever be capable of producing man - made

whisky because times change but Ardbeg remains which is why….

Ardbeg gets its name from the Gaelic Airde Beaga which is little height.

Serendipity

Blended malt born by mistake at Glenmorangie’s blending plant after some clever lateral thinking.

The Glenmorangie Company had no plans to produce this accidental blended malt; its creation arose from a mistake made in the blending hall at the company’s blending facility at Broxburn.

As a result of the error, Serendipity became a blend of Ardbeg and Glen Moray single malts, with Ardbeg making up most of the mix.

The result was a toned-down Ardbeg that Glenmorangie marketed as a ‘lighter taste of Islay’ bottled as a 12-year-old.

One production manager at The Glenmorangie Company described the creation of Serendipity as a disaster. Marketing manager Hamish Torrie had another view.

1893

Macdonald & Muir is founded as an Edinburgh

wine and spirits merchant

1996

Macdonald & Muir changes its name to The

Glenmorangie Company and moves into new

premises at Broxburn

1997

Glenmorangie purchases Ardbeg distillery on

Islay for 7.000.000 pound

1999

The accidental 80:20 blended malt is created

following an error in the Broxburn blending hall

2005

A second mistake at Broxburn results in Serendipity,

an accidental blend of Ardbeg and Glen Moray whisky

2009

Glenmorangie sells Glen Moray distillery to French

group La Martiniquaise

2010

Glenmorangie moves its blending and bottling from

Broxburn to new premises in Livingstone

The Glenmorangie Company

2005 - present

Macdonald & Muir

2005 - present

COLIN HAY

In the history of Ardbeg and Islay whisky, the figure of Colin Hay looms large. Not only did he bring the distillery back from the brink of destruction, he is credited with ushering in the most prosperous period in its history.

Hay was a native Ileach, born in Kildalton Parish, who began work at the distillery in the 1840s. The business was managed by Alexander McDougall,the resident partner in Alexander McDougall & Co, but all was not well.

An Excise officer reported in 1846 that McDougall ‘is paralytic and constantly confined to his chair [and] consequently not able to look after his affairs’. The exciseman believed that distillery workers were taking advantage of his incapacity, stealing new make spirit from the worm and carrying it off for their own consumption.

McDougall’s sisters Margaret and Flora had to take on much of the responsibility for running the business, appointing Hay as their manager, but they struggled to keep the business going after their brother’s death in 1853. When Ardbeg’sagents and major creditors, Buchanan, Wilson & Co., examined the books after Flora’s death in 1857, they were horrified by what they found.

Customers had been removing casks without any record of payments to their accounts. Lawyers’ fees had been paid in whisky from the warehouse rather than in cash, leaving a gaping hole in the company’s own stocks.

At the same time, lavish personal expenses had been put through the company’s books, including an intriguing bill for providing ‘outfits and a passage to India’ for Alexander’s late brother and distillery manager, Dugald. None of the debts appeared to be recoverable.

As they had done in 1838, when the Ardbeg distillery was last threatened with closure, Buchanan, Wilson & Co stepped in to provide a financial rescue package. And the man they chose to lead the recovery was Colin Hay.

The manager had become Margaret’s partner in the business in the 1850s, and sole partner after Margaret’s death in 1865. Hugely indebted to Buchanan, Wilson & Co to begin with, he tookAlexander Buchanan into partnership in Alexander McDougall & Co in 1872, swapping the debt for equity. Ardbeg’s future was secured – for now at least.

Ardbeg’s whisky was in great demand from blenders in the mid-19th century. It was also supplied to wine and spirits merchants across the UK for sale as a single malt, and exported to the US, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. It was ‘decidedly the best whisky made in Scotland’, proclaimed one merchant’s advert. A New Zealand hotelkeeper called it ‘The Ticket for Scotchmen’.

Hay worked tirelessly to develop the business. He installed larger stills to increase production capacity and erected new warehouses to store growing stocks of maturing whisky.

He built a new deep-water quay to land coal, barley and other essential supplies on the distillery’s doorstep, and to ship whisky more quickly and cheaply to the mainland. In 1883 he installed a steam engine at the distillery, when the water wheel alone could no longer supply the power required for new machinery

Journalist Alfred Barnard noted that production had risen to 250,000 gallons of whisky per annum by 1886 – 25 times the amount distilled annually in the 1820s. There were 60 men employed at the distillery at that time, and the small village of Ardbeg had grown to about 200 people, with its own school for the children of the village and surrounding area.

By then, Hay had built a magnificent house on the seafront next to Warehouse No 3. He laid out a beautiful garden on the hillside to the west of the village, and built a large greenhouse to grow fruit and vegetables. A well-appointed billiards room was provided for the men to pass their leisure time, and wives and children could join them for special events in the evenings.

Hay was a pillar of Islay society. He was a farmer of nearly 2,300 acres, on which he raised cattle, as well as sheep. He was also a Justice of the Peace, a parish councillor and a driving force of the Glasgow Islay Association. A passionate supporter of Gaelic education, he championed the revival of Gaelic literary traditions.

Ardbeg survived the depression in the market for Islay whiskies of the late 1880s and early 1890s. It survived, too, the huge fire of December 1887which destroyed the stillhouse, tun room, malt barns and kiln. When Hay retired in 1897, the distillery was reputedly the largest and most successful on the island.

Hay hoped, but failed, to establish a dynasty at Ardbeg. His eldest son Alexander was his chosen successor, but died in 1896. A second son, Robert, was described by Hay himself as a ‘a soft-headed young fellow’ who ran away to work on a sheep farm and hunt rabbits in New Zealand. He died soon after finally obeying his father’s demand to return home.

A third son, Colin Elliot Hay, returned from the mainland as manager after Alexander Hay’s death, and he became the resident partner and one of the leading shareholders in Alexander McDougall & Co.

The son tried hard to emulate his father, who had criticised him for exhibiting ‘no moral strength or courage to break off from evil companionship’ when he was a young man living on the mainland.

There were rumours in the village that he drank too much, and he became unpopular. He left Islay after the First World War, returning only rarely, and died with crippling debts in 1928.

Successive management teams had to deal with many new crises at the distillery after the departure of the Hays. It closed during the Depression of the early 1930s. It was closed again from 1981 until 1989, and then in 1996, before reopening in 1997 under current owner The Glenmorangie Company.

Much of Ardbeg’s resilience can be put down to the work of Colin Hay, who turned a troubled business around, built a solid reputation for the whisky and laid the foundations of a ‘brand’ that is one of the best-known in Scotland today.

ARDBEG AND SERENDIPITY

The next time you feel like moaning about ‘health and safety gone mad’, think about the old pot ale tank at Glen Elgin distillery. Made from 6ft by 3ft sections of cast-iron, it blew apart one night, sending one of the panels 30 metres across the yard. ‘It would have taken your head off,’ Ed Dodson says.

As anyone who’s read the recent feature outlining the 20-year-old story of the resurrection of Ardbeg will know, Dodson was the whisky veteran sent in to patch up the Islay distillery and get it up and running again following its acquisition byGlenmorangie in 1997.

The hard part about writing this type of article – and keeping it to a vaguely sensible length – is not so much knowing what to include, but what to leave out. And, even then, there’s that nagging feeling that some of the best stuff has ended up on the cutting-room floor.

Hence the Glen Elgin morangie takeover) – not to mention the time in April 1997 when blue asbestos was discovered in Ardbeg’s roof, leading to a temporary shutdown.

How did Ardbeg’s spirit arrive at its combination of fruit and smoke?

Dodson was clearly fascinated by the Ardbeg spirit character – had been since the 1970s during his ‘Islay period’ of single malt drinking. ‘I’d never been there, but it didn’t make sense to me,’ he recalls. ‘I always thought Laphroaig and Lagavulinwere really heavy compared to Ardbeg. But it wasn’t until I began to nose the new make spirit [in June 1997] that I thought: “This is why.”’

But where does that quintessential Ardbeg character – the lush fruit keeping the smoke in check – come from? Dodson has a sacrilegious hypothesis: ‘My theory – which didn’t go down well with the marketing department – was that, when they were starting up Ardbeg, the whisky was probably crap, so they decided to put an angle on the lyne arm.

‘And it was probably still no good, so they put in the purifier, collecting any liquid and directing it back into the body of the still, allowing it to run back down, but not stopping the vapours from heading up the still.

‘It’s serendipity. A lot of the things that have happened in the Scotch whisky industry came about by accident.’

Serendipity, yes, but also the willingness to make mistakes and the good sense to learn from them, to improve, hone, tinker to get the best possible result out of the raw materials and equipment at your disposal.

Distilleries, it seems, have an almost human character, full of temperament and idiosyncratic traits that defy scientific analysis. Dodson had thought that he’d be able to get 1.3m litres of pure alcohol a year out of Ardbeg – until he faced the challenge of working with a spirit still that’s almost as big as the wash still. ‘I could only get to the 1.1m-litre mark because of the need to get a balanced distillation,’ he says.

On the night that the first spirit ran from the stills again at Ardbeg, the plan was to bring the wash still in slowly and gently. ‘That won’t work,’ said Duncan Logan, 35-year Ardbeg veteran and, despite no longer working there, an invaluable source of advice to Dodson at that time. ‘You have to let it come in, then slow it down afterwards. If you shut the steam off, you’ll lose it.’ Logan was ignored – but not for long.

At Ardbeg, the talk now is not of survival, but expansion. That brings its own challenges and potential pitfalls. Intervening in the serendipitous evolutionary process that has made Ardbeg Ardbeg over a period of more than two centuries is something that has to be done with care and sensitivity.

But Ardbeg is a distillery, not a museum. And if a distillery is like a person, then change is part of what makes you realise you’re still alive. What will the serendipitous discoveries of tomorrow be? It’ll be fun finding out.

MICKEY HEADS

Whisky passion: Over the past decade, Mickey Heads has become inextricably linked to Ardbeg

There’s a pleasing numerical symmetry to Mickey’stenure at Ardbeg: the 20th manager of the distillery, marking 10 years in 2017, having joined almost exactly 10 years after Glenmorangie bought the distillery.

That acquisition ended an uncertain period during which Ardbeg could have become another Port Ellen after a stop-start period of production (it was silent from 1981-9 and 1996-7, and scarcely running at full speed at other times).

Apt, then, that its management should pass to a true Ileach, one born just a few miles from Ardbegand whose father (a stillman) and grandfather (head maltman at Port Ellen) were also closely involved in the industry. Arguably all the more important to reinforce those local links when the distillery’s current owner (luxury goods corporation LVMH) has its offices in faraway Paris.

That said, Mickey’s career path – or ‘meander’ as he has modestly described it – appeared at first to be taking him further away from Ardbeg, rather than closer to it. From cutting peat for Laphroaigto becoming the distillery’s brewer (during which time he also helped out at Ardbeg, then owned by the same company), then hopping across to run Jura between 1999 and 2007.

But then came the call back to Islay, and Ardbeg. And now, 10 years on, Ardbeggians all over the world are being encouraged to raise a glass, and three cheers, to Mickey.

In a whisky world where hype and marketing cliché all too often overwhelm the truth of an essentially local product, it’s not hard to celebrate someone so down-to-earth, hard-working and humble, and someone whose connection to what he makes is so powerful.

Corryvreckan in my glass, to recall that first Indian summer visit. Sláinte, Mickey.

HAMISH SCOTT

The legendary Ardbeg bottlings of the 1960s and 1970s owe their existence to Hamish Scott, who transformed the way whisky was made at the Islay distillery during his tenure as manager. Scott also had an entrepreneurial streak – and introduced the world to the iconic Ardbeg ‘A’.

Bottlings of Ardbeg distilled in the 1960s and 1970s have achieved legendary status among collectors, and fetch huge sums at auction. They were distilled at a time when the Islay distillery was managed by the late Hamish Scott, one of the most colourful characters in its long and eventful history.

For many years, enthusiasts beat a path to his door, eager to discover what it was about his regime that led to the creation of such distinctive Islay single malts. Here’s what happened…

Scott had amassed a wealth of experience before arriving on Islay in September 1964: he had worked at Aberfeldy, Glen Ord and BenRiach, as well as two grain whisky distilleries on the mainland, and had also made rum as the manager of the Diamond distillery in Guyana. He quickly set to work on a much-needed modernisation project at Ardbeg which was to transform the way the distillery made whisky.

The new manager was shocked to discover how long it took to germinate barley at Ardbeg’s maltings. His first improvement was to heat the water used in the process and reduce the time required by more than half, to about five days.

Interviewed by whisky writer Bert Bruyneel many years later, Scott recalled that the distillery had used a mix of brewers’ and distillers’ yeast before his arrival. He decided to use only the latter, as ‘the quality was always fairly consistent and gave better results’.

In 1964, the worm tub serving Ardbeg’s spirit still was replaced with a condenser – the wash still’s had been replaced four years earlier. Another fundamental change in the distilling regime followed in 1966, when the stills were converted from direct coal firing to steam heating. This gave greater control over the heating of the wash and the low wines in the stills, reducing the risk of ‘scalding’ the liquid.

This modernisation programme must have had a significant effect on the character of the new make distilled at Ardbeg from the mid-1960s, producing a more consistent and perhaps less ‘pungent’ spirit for maturation. Demand from blenders soared, and new warehouses were built to meet the requirements of increased production.

Scott was promoted to the post of general manager in 1971 by his employer, the Ardbeg Distillery Ltd, giving him greater responsibility for planning, purchasing and reporting. He was immediately tasked with increasing production to meet the growing demand for fillings.

Ardbeg cask 1974

Lighter style: Ardbeg’s 1974 whiskies tend to be less peaty – but it wasn’t a deliberate move

Ardbeg production was constrained by the availability of malt from the distillery’s maltings, but Scott reckoned he could buy in up to 15% of the extra malt required from the mainland, without affecting the character of the spirit. His chosen supplier was Moray Firth Malting of Inverness, which was found to be most capable of providing malt peated to the required levels.

Despite his best efforts, however, the vagaries of the Islay weather helped defeat his attempts to produce a spirit of consistent character. Scott had set up a company, Islay Peat Developments (IPD), to mechanise the peat cutting process on Islay, and IPD delivered large quantities of peat to Ardbeg – such that the directors in Glasgow raised concerns about the high level of peat used in the 1972-73 season, and the resulting expense.

Peating levels then fell dramatically in 1973-74, the result (according to Scott) of adverse weather conditions in which the IPD machinery could not operate.

These events help to explain why some of the famous 1974 Ardbeg are far less peaty than others from the mid-1970s – something very evident in Serge Valentin’s excellent reviews of vintage Ardbegs on whiskyfun.com.

Of course Scott was making Ardbeg primarily for the blending companies which dominated the whisky market at the time. While the distillery had bottled small quantities of single malt for select customers in the past, by the 1960s only a few cases were made available each year, for Islay hotels and for Christmas gifts to the directors.

Scott told whisky writer Gavin Smith that he filled just a single 50-gallon cask each year for bottling as a single malt, and the casks were old. However, the whisky was immensely popular among those lucky enough to sample it, and the manager recognised another excellent business opportunity.

In 1975, Scott sent a few casks of Ardbeg to Strathleven Bonded Warehouses Ltd on the mainland, to be bottled at 80 degrees proof (about 45% abv) as a single malt. He supplied the distillery’s own labels for the project, designed (with what has subsequently become the famous Ardbeg ‘A’) by an art college lecturer and professional football referee, Rollo Kyle, who was a frequent visitor to the island.

Ardbeg single malts distilled under Scott in the 1970s are highly prized

Scott took the single malt to a trade exhibition in Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall, where he sold 90 cases and generated a lot of interest in the product. Sales were steady if unspectacular thereafter, although the company received an order for 50 cases from Groothandel Van Wees of the Netherlands at the beginning of 1976. A large number of miniatures were bottled for local traders that year.

Venturing into single malt in this way was a bold and typically entrepreneurial initiative from the distillery manager, but Scott’s days at Ardbeg were numbered. One of the Ardbeg Distillery Ltd’s minority shareholders, the Scottish arm of the multinational distillery company Hiram Walker-Gooderham & Worts, acquired the business in early 1977. Scott later told me that he had been warned that he was unlikely to remain in his post under the new regime for longer than six months – and so it proved.

After 13 years in charge at Ardbeg, with minimal interference from the mainland, Scott found it troublesome to implement the corporate rules and regulations which Hiram Walker attempted to impose. Much more serious, however, were differences over how the whisky should be made.

Ardbeg A

A is for…: Scott commissioned the design of the Ardbeg ‘A’ from art college lecturer Rollo Kyle

Scott and his line manager disagreed about a dramatic fall in the quality of the spirit produced at Ardbeg in 1976/77, with Scott blaming new methods imposed from the mainland.

‘In my opinion, the deterioration in quality of the spirit is directly related to the recent changes which have been effected in the maltings,’ he reported. ‘Namely the shortening of the kilning cycle and the insufficient time allowed for the “smoking” of the malt with peat, combined with the requirement to force-dry the kiln, because of the higher moisture content of the green malt.’ He believed that quality was being sacrificed to cut costs.

Scott left Ardbeg in 1977, with a new manager put in place to make Ardbeg the Hiram Walker way. Scott set up as a shopkeeper in nearby Port Ellenand later ran a bed and breakfast business near the pier with his wife.

He died in 2016, and is remembered as one of the great characters in the long, rollercoaster history of the distillery: the man who made some of the greatest malt whiskies to come from the island, and who introduced the world to the iconic Ardbeg ‘A’.

ISLAY’S SINGLE MALT EXPANSION

February 2018

Today’s announcement that Ardbeg is to double distillation capacity crowns a period of unprecedented growth for Islay single malt whisky. New distilleries, revived distilleries, expanding distilleries… here’s a rundown of the latest moves on ‘Whisky Island’

Ardbeg distillery expansion

Big name: Ardbeg’s expansion plans are the latest vote of confidence for Islay whisky

Can the world ever have enough of Islay single malt whisky? Apparently not, if recent events are anything to go by.

With new distilleries at various stages of planning or construction – Ardnahoe, Gartbreck and more to come – plus the revival of Port Ellen and the expansion of existing plants, this is a period of unprecedented growth in whisky production on the Hebridean island.

It’s hard to believe that, just a few decades ago, business was tough for some of Islay’s distillers. Ardbeg ran only intermittently throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Port Ellen shut down in 1983,and Bruichladdich didn’t produce a drop of spirit in the second half of the 1990s.

That’s all changed now. Laphroaig and Bowmore,Lagavulin and Ardbeg… Islay has more than its fair share of single malt’s household names, with a dynamic supporting cast that includes Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila and Kilchoman.

Meanwhile, the volume of whisky made on the island has been steadily increasing for some time. For instance, production from Caol Ila’s six stills, following a revamp in 2011, has reached a formidable 6.5m litres of pure alcohol (lpa) a year.

As the Islay whisky boom continues, it can be hard to keep up with everything that’s happening on the island. So here’s a handy rundown of recent events…

Islay single malt whisky distillery Ardbeg is set to add two more stills, doubling its distillation capacity and moving production into a new still house.

Expansion has been on the cards at Ardbeg for some time, thanks to rising sales

The multi-million-pound project, funded by distillery owner The Glenmorangie Company, is due to start work this year, subject to planning permission, with completion scheduled for 2019.

Plans include the construction of a new still house on a site once occupied by warehouses, with the current still house converted to house new washbacks.

The expanded distillery’s four stills – its existing wash and spirit stills, plus a new pair of wash and spirit stills – will be housed in a ‘traditional-style’ building, Ardbeg said.

Planning permission has already been granted to move Ardbeg’s boiler house a little further away from the distillery, and work on this has begun.

Plans for the new still house have been submitted to Argyll & Bute Council, and the distillery is set to hold a meeting for local residents on Islay to discuss the project in the near future.

Ardbeg is planning to ‘continue its normal operations’ while construction work takes place.

‘We are delighted by Ardbeg’s success since 1997 – and by the growing passion for our whisky from fans around the world,’ said Marc Hoellinger, president and CEO of The Glenmorangie Company,a subsidiary of Moët Hennessy, itself a division of luxury goods giant LVMH.

‘Ardbeg has been distilled on Islay since 1815 and, with a new still house, we will pave the way for future generations of smoky malt whisky lovers to discover the ultimate Islay malt.’

Ardbeg’s current era of high demand and expansion is a world away from its near demise two decades ago, when it was acquired by Glenmorangie in a poor state of repair.

The distillery spent most of the 1980s and 1990seither silent, working intermittently and conducting experiments or being used for spare parts by nearby Laphroaig, then under the same ownership.

News of the planned expansion comes just weeks after Glenmorangie unveiled plans to build its own new still house to accommodate two new stills, in addition to the six currently used at the distillery in Tain.

It also comes at a time of expanding whisky production on Islay: Kilchoman said it would double production capacity in November last year, and Laphroaig is also planning to add more stills.

Meanwhile, the new Ardnahoe distillery is due to start production this spring, plans for a distillery atGartbreck Farm have been resurrected and the long-silent Port Ellen distillery is to be revived by 2020.

ARDBEG GROOVES

March 2018

Islay single malt Ardbeg is harking back to the 1960s‘Summer of Love’ with its latest Ardbeg Day limited release, Ardbeg Grooves.

Groovy whisky: This year’s Ardbeg Day whisky recalls the ‘Summer of Love’ 51 years ago

The annual release ties in with Ardbeg Day on Saturday, 2 June, an annual celebration centred on the distillery’s open day during Fèis Ìle, the Islay Festival of Music and Malt.

For this year’s bottling, director of distilling, whisky creation and whisky stocks Dr Bill Lumsden has matured part of the whisky in re-toasted red wine casks.

These casks were intensely charred to create heavy grooves in the surface of the wood, designed to produce more intense flavours of ‘smoked spices, distant bonfires and chilli-seasoned meats’.

As in previous years, two variants will be launched to mark Ardbeg Day: Ardbeg Grooves, bottled at 46% abv and on general release, priced at £98 for a 70cl bottle; and Ardbeg Peat & Love, bottled exclusively for members of the Ardbeg Committee at 51.6%, priced at £89 a bottle.

The latter will go on sale at 9am next Wednesday, 14 March, and Committee members will be sent a link to purchase their own bottle.

Ardbeg Day will include a live online tasting, broadcasting to all Ardbeg Embassies around the world, plus the launch of the single malt’s Summer ofPeat & Love campaign, with a 1960s-style VW van touring festivals, bars and Ardbeg Embassies across the UK.

‘The Ardbeg Village of the 1960s was a very different place – a groovy wee community, with its own post office, billiards hall, two choirs and even a football team,’ said Ardbeg distillery manager Mickey Heads.

‘These days the Ardbeg community is a worldwide one, and Ardbeg Day is the best way for us all to come together and raise a dram to the ultimate Islay single malt.

Capacity (Litres of Pure Alcohol-LPA) 1 150 000 litres

Among single malt aficionados, particularly those who have a preference for peaty tasting malts, Ardbegholds an almost cult status.

Ardbeg was officially established by the MacDougall family in 1815. Subsequently its ownership underwent many changes, particularly in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Since Allied Distillers sold the distillery to Glenmorangie plc in 1997, the latter has been busy building up their stock of quality consistent spirit.

Unlike other Islay malts like Laphroaig or Lagavulin,Ardbeg tries to avoid the more pungent phenols, thus a smoky after-taste is greatly reduced, while not detracting from the peaty taste.

The Ardbeg core portfolio

10 Year Old – a 46% strength ABV ‘Distillery Bottled’ Single Malt Whisky. (£25-40)

Colour Pale, straw-coloured

Aroma Peaty infused with zesty citrus notes, cinnamon and pears, all wrapped in ceraceous dark chocolate.

Taste After the initial burst of peat with hints of tangy lemon and lime juice, waves of warm creamy cappuccino mingle with barley notes, tobacco, strong black coffee, liquorice and cocoa.

Finish As the taste sensation deepens, waves of tarry smoke and liquorice root develop as the palate is continually coated with chewy peat oils. Smoky but slightly sweet with a lingering hint of malted barley.

For peat-lovers, or those willing to try a peaty Islay,Ardbeg 10 Year Old is probably the highest-quality ‘entry-level’ single malt available on the current market. It is possibly the distillery many Islayconnoisseurs would choose as their favourite. Indeed, it is arguably the benchmark against which all other Islay malts are judged.

The tall stills at Ardbeg together with a purifier on top of the spirit, neither of which are seen at other Islay distilleries, help to contribute to the finesse and delicacy of a spirit that retains some of the over arching peaty flavours without it being too smoky. It does not flaunt the peat, however, rather it yields to the natural sweetness of the malt to produce a perfectly balanced whisky.

Ardbeg 10 Year Old is an exuberant maelstrom of complex peat and malty tangs with a hint of fruity floral flavours; definitely an in-your-face whisky to be treasured.

Uigeadail – a 54.2% strength ABV ‘Distillery Bottled’ Single Malt Whisky. (£40-70)

Colour Relatively Pale, straw-coloured

Aroma Peaty with subtle hints of fino sherry and slightly damp leather. Intensely laden with heady and smoky aromatics.

Taste A burst of winter fruitcake spices trigger a smoky-spicy explosion of intense and multi-layered, oily peat smoke, counter-balanced by a sumptuous mid-palate of honey glazed, smoked food and sweet, chewy treacle toffee and a touch of dried fruit.

Finish Smoky dominance with hints of spice. The waves of deep, smoky tones and rich aromas build up pleasingly on the palate like a fine Montecristo cigar.

The hard to pronounce Uigeadail (pronounced ‘Oog-a-dal’) is the name of the loch from which all Ardbeg water is drawn at the distillery. Since the launch in 2003 of this special bottling, it’s been an enormous success. It is both full of peat smoke, earthiness and layers of oak. Full bodied and rich with a texture that unctuously coats the mouth. The taste of Uigeadail is a provocative balance between sweet, spicy top notes and deep, smoky flavours.

The marriage of Ardbeg’s traditional deep, smoky note spirits with luscious, raisiny tones of old ex-Sherry casks give a sweet and smoky finish to this malt. It’s ‘non chill-filtered’ at high strength, thereby retaining maximum flavour and lending more body and added depth.

For peaty malt aficionados Uigeadail is an absolutely stunning whisky, and following the demise of theArdbeg Airigh nam Beist (pronounced ‘Arry nam Baysht) a delicious vintage bottling from 1990, sadly discontinued as a result of exhausted stocks, (‘The Beist’ was an extremely popular Ardbeg, with an assertive edge and powerful peatiness balanced by a lovely honeyed flavour.) Uigeadail probably represents the best value in the core range.

Blasda – a 40% strength ABV ‘Distillery Bottled’ Single Malt Whisky. (£40-60)

Colour Relatively Pale, Fino sherry or white wine coloured

Aroma The aroma is reminiscent of baked creamy vanilla custard and roast chestnuts. A tingle of lemon and lime marmalade cuts through the vanilla with spiced pears Some tasters get a hint of cloves, pine cones and fresh mint or a breath of menthol and sea salt that rise from the glass. These elements are softened by ripe fruits that fuse with almond and vanilla.

Taste The initial sip is sweet with a mixture of sugared almonds, marzipan and hints of dried fruit. Refreshingly sweet while earthy, silky and creamy to the palate. Gentle peat oils build on the palate, while remaining soft, clean and dry with a dusting of powdery sherbet. Tangy citrus notes freshen the palate with a gentle fizz. Later a gentle warmth is provided by tingling spices and creamy cappuccino.

Finish A short finish of refreshing lemon vanilla and spiced apples

Launched in 2008, with a phenol level at only 8 parts per million, Blasda, chill-filtered and bottled at the distillery, has a lightly peaty taste. It is, however, still perfectly balanced, but light, sweet and delicious – a light expression of Ardbeg’s otherwise quite heavily peated whiskies.

In Gaelic Blasda means ‘sweet and delicious’. It caused quite a stir when it was released, with disapproving shouts of “It’s too sweet, where’s the peat?” The thing is, the point of this expression was to decrease the smoky peaty flavour in order to show the beautiful balance and complexity of Ardbeg’s fruity undertones, flavours which are otherwise difficult to distinguish.

Ardbeg’s Blasda is an ongoing product scheduled to have a three-year lifespan, as some 1800 bottles have been produced for the UK market.

Corryvreckan – a 57.1% strength ABV ‘Distillery Bottled’ Single Malt Whisky. (£60-80)

Colour Relatively Pale, straw-coloured or amber.

Aroma Heady, intense and powerful. Peaty with hints of fino sherry and slightly damp leather. You can smell the tarry ropes, creosote and linseed oil rising from deep within the vortex.

Taste A rich, luxuriant mouth feel. Intense and multi-layered oily peat smoke, sweet yet earthy, with a touch of dried citrus and forest fruits.

Finish Smoky dominance with hints of spices, grilled anchovies, charred lemons and seaweed.

If peaty whiskies are to your taste, you’ll be happy with this.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan has been a huge success since its launch in 2009, winning ‘World’s Best Single Malt Whisky’ at the ‘World Whisky Awards 2010’ and ‘Best No Age Statement Scotch ‘ scoring 96.5 points out of 100 from Jim Murray’s ‘Whisky Bible 2011’ and 2012.

Corryvreckan, according to the Ardbeg website, takes its name from a famous whirlpool that lies to the north of Islay, a place where only the bravest souls dare to venture.

Like the whirlpool itself, Corryvreckan is not for the faint-hearted!

Swirling aromas and torrents of deep, peaty, peppery taste lurk beneath the surface of this beautifully balanced dram. With the first sniff, be prepared to encounter the deep and turbulent force of Corryvreckan as it pulls you inwards.

As you succumb to its power, a heady mixture of waxy dark chocolate, warm blackcurrants and muscovado sugar grips you in its spell as a salvo of plump cherries and earthy pine needle arises torpedo-like towards you from its murky depths.

A decent balance of flavours is maintained throughout, ending with a lovely briny note right at the death.

Other Ardbeg whiskies worthy of mention:

Supernova, (58.9% ABV) (£125-200) launched in 2009 had a phenol level well in excess of 100 parts per million. Supernova 2010 (£80-100) also hit the 100 ppm mark but the strength of alcohol was slightly higher (60.1% ABV).

Ardbeg Supernova’s success was a true phenomenon, since the Advance Committee Release sold out in a matter of hours in January 2009. It also scooped ‘Scotch Whisky of the Year’ from Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2010, (scoring 97 points out of 100).

Several other Committee bottlings have been produced, among which notable ones include Rollercoaster (57.3% ABV) (2010)(c £200) and Ardbeg Alligator (51.2% ABV) (2011) (c £150), which can only be purchased by Committee members.

Some harder to acquire bottles:

Ardbeg 1990 / Airigh Nam Beist 46% ABV (c £100.00)

The following three are precursors to Ardbeg 10 Year Old;

Ardbeg 1997 / ‘Very Young’ Committee Approved

58.3% ABV (c £325.00 )

Ardbeg 1998 / – Still Young 56.2% ABV (c £65.00)

Ardbeg 1998 / Almost There 54.1% ABV (c £100.00)

Ardbeg 17 Year Old 40% ABV (c £250.00)

Ardbeg 10 Year Old / Bot.1990’s 40% ABV (c £555.00)

Ardbeg 10 Year Old / Bot. 1980’s 40% ABV (c £600.00)

Ardbeg 1973 / 15 Year Old / Bot.1988 / Cask Strength /

Sestante 53.5% ABV(c £700.00)

Ardbeg 1976 / 31 Year Old / Cask 2397 / Sherry Butt

52.4% ABV (c £999.00)

Ardbeg 1974 / Provenance / USA Bottling 55% ABV

(c £1,200.00)

Ardbeg 1976 / Cask 2392 / Committee / Sherry Cask 55% ABV (c £1,750.00)

Ardbeg 1976 / Cask 2391 / Manager’s Choice / Sherry Cask 56%ABV

(c £3,999.00)

SECOND ARDBEG TWENTY SOMETHING UNVEILED

September 2018

Ardbeg has announced the launch of a third Ardbeg Twenty Something, a 22-year-old single malt honouring the people that saved the Islay distillery from closure.

Ardbeg Twenty Something 22 Year Old

Dark days: Ardbeg Twenty Something 22 Year Old was distilled during an uncertain period for the distillery

Following on from the first two editions, a 23-year-old released in October 2017 and a 21-year-old released in September 2016, Ardbeg Twenty Something 22 Year Old will be available exclusively toCommittee Members from 4 October.

A 1996 vintage malt distilled in the retired still that now rests in the distillery courtyard, the expression has been matured in ex-Bourbon casks and bottled at 46.4% abv.

Its release marks a period of struggle for the Islay distillery, which closed for much of the 1980s and operated only sporadically in the 1990s.

The spirit used for the bottling was distilled duringArdbeg’s final year of operation before being acquired by the Glenmorangie Company in 1997.

‘This bottle is a magnificent reminder as to whyArdbeg should never be allowed to disappear,’ saidMickey Heads, Ardbeg distillery manager.

‘Ardbeg Twenty Something is for those who believed wholeheartedly in the Ardbeg distillery, which is why it’s fitting that this rare whisky – a 22 Year Old – will be enjoyed by our loyal Committee Members, who maintain that same belief.’

The whisky is described as having notes of ‘luscious tropical fruits’, as well as ‘peppermint tea and sweet vanilla toffee’ with ‘mouth-watering sweet smoke’.

Dr Bill Lumsden, Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks at Ardbeg, added: ‘The ex-Bourbon casks I selected for Ardbeg Twenty Something have delivered a beautiful dram, bursting with deep tropical aromas.

‘It offers an incredibly flavourful, silky quality which is exceptional. I can think of no better way to celebrate those whisky lovers who helped keepArdbeg alive during its darkest days.’

Ardbeg Twenty Something 22 Year Old will be available exclusively via ardbeg.com for £440 a bottle.

ARDBEG TWENTY SOMETHING MARKS DARK DAYS

October 2017

Ardbeg is to release Ardbeg Twenty Something, a 23-year-old single malt filled into cask at a time when the Islay distillery was facing an uncertain future.

Ardbeg Twenty Something

Trying times: Ardbeg was operating only sporadically when this spirit was laid down

The new expression, non-chill-filtered and bottled at 46.3% abv, will be sold exclusively to members of the Ardbeg Committee at a price of £430 for a 70cl bottle.

Ardbeg Twenty Something is a vatting of ex-Bourbon and ex-oloroso Sherry casks, filled at a very difficult time for the cult Islay distillery.

Ardbeg had been closed for most of the 1980s, and operated only sporadically during the 1990s before closing again in 1996 – but the distillery was acquired by The Glenmorangie Company in 1997, which restarted production that year.

Ardbeg owner Moët Hennessy said the new expression was being released exclusively to theArdbeg Committee group of enthusiasts in recognition of their ‘enduring support’. The Committee pledges to ‘ensure the doors of Ardbeg never close again’.

Distillery manager and Committee chairman Mickey Heads, who spent some time at Ardbeg while working at nearby Laphroaig during the 1990s, said: ‘This magnificent whisky was created within the retired iconic still which stands proud outside our distillery today.

‘It’s a glimpse back into Ardbeg’s turbulent past and reaffirms just why the distillery couldn’t be allowed to disappear.’

Dr Bill Lumsden, director of distilling, whisky creation and whisky stocks at Ardbeg, described Ardbeg Twenty Something as ‘bursting with rich, deep flavours’, with ‘an incredibly smoky, silky quality’.

The release follows last year’s launch of anotherArdbeg Committee bottling of a similar age, Ardbeg Twenty One, priced at £310 a bottle.

Ardbeg Twenty Something will go on sale to Committee members from 2 November at www.ardbeg.com.

2017:

An Oa, Kelpie and Twenty are released

2018:

Grooves is released

1760

Daniel Campbell established the town of Bowmore

1794

The MacDougall family tenants at Ardbeg, Airigh nam

Beist and Lagavulin farms and are Illicit distillers,

Duncan MacDougall is the distiller

1797

Daniel Campbell starts perhaps the first legal distillery

on the Kildalton coastline

1797

Islay's first excise officer is appointed

1815

John MacDougall of Ardbeg farm and backed by

Thomas Buchanan Jnr, a Glasgow whisky merchant

is a legal distiller

1816

Walter Frederick Campbell buys the farms Ardbeg,

Airugh nam Beist and Lagavulin from the family

MacDougall

Walter Frederick Campbell starts a steamer service

between Port Ellen via Loch Fyne and Glasgow

1816

The Small Stills Act came into effect which removed

the fiscal differences between Highland and Lowland

distilleries

7 new distilleries are established or legalised on Islay

as a result, Ardmore, Ballygrant, Bridgend, Octovullin,

Octomore, Newton, Scarabus, Lagavulin

1822

The Illicit Distillation Act came to effect and also in

Islay

1823

The Exise Act and Glenavullen, Lochindaal, Lossit,

Mulindry, Port Ellen are build

1835

Ardbeg has an output of 65.000 litres a year

1838 Alexander MacDougall & Co is the bussiness

name

1850

Charles Hay son of Walter Frederick Campbell's

coachman is manager

1851

Margaret and Flora MacDougall, sisters of Alexander

owns Ardbeg

1853

The Forbes Mackenzie Act: Vatting of malt Whiskies

from the same distillery "Under Bond" are permitted

Alexander MacDougall , the son of John MacDougall,

dies and his sisters Flora and Margaret MacDougall

with the help of Colin Hay are running the distillery

1860

William Gldstone's Spirit Act made it possible toblend

grain and malt whiskies "Under Bond" which made it

possible to produce a more consistent whisky

1854

Due to Temperance Campaigns the number of

distillerieson Islay had fallen from 28 to 16, while

consumption in Scotland was fallen by 25 percent.

1857

Ardbeg makes heavy losses and Flora and

Margaret sells the distillery to Thomas Gray Buchanan,

their financial backker

1872

Colin Hay, the son of Charles Hay is manager and partner

with Thomas Gray Buchanan's son Alexander Wilson Buchanan

1881

Bruichladdich and Bunahabhain are build

1886

Alfred Barnard visit Islay and among other distilleries

Ardbeg.

1888

Colin Hay and Alexander Wilson Buchanan signed a

new lease for Ardbeg farm

1899

65 people are working at the distillery and there are

about 40 homes at Ardbeg

1900

Colin Hay wordt opgevolgd door zijn zoon

1902

Alexander MacDougall & Co werd een Limited Company.

1904

Colin Elliot Hay is manager of Ardbeg Margareth en Flora,

geholpen door Colin Hay de distilleerderij over en na de

dood van de twee zusters MacDougall gaat Colin Hay alleen

verder

1959

Ardbeg Distillery Ltd gesticht

1973

Ardbeg Distillery Trust gevormd door The Distillers

Company

Ltd

(D.C.L.) en Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd

1977

Hiram Walker wordt de alleen eigenaar

De mouterij wordt gesloten

1979

Kildalton, een minder turfgerookte malt wordt

gedurende een aantal jaren geproduceerd

1981

Ardbeg sluit in Maart

1987

Allied Lyons neemt Hiram Walker over

1989

Ardbeg wordt weer opgestart

Iain Henderson is de manager

1996

Ardbeg sluit in Juli, en Ardbeg wordt te

koop aangeboden

1997

Glenmorangie plc neemt Ardbeg over voor

£ 7 miljoen

Ardbeg wordt weer opgestart op 25 Juni

De voorraad whisky heeft een waarde van

£ 5,5 miljoen, rest voor het zwaar vervallen

gebouwencomplex £ 1,5 miljoen

Ardbeg 17 years old en de Provenance

worden uitgebracht

1998

Bezoekerscentrum geopend

2000

Ardbeg 10 years old uitgebracht

Ardbeg Committee opgericht

2001

Lord of the Isles uitgebracht

Ardbeg 1977 uitgebracht

2002

Ardbeg Committee Rserve uitgebracht

Ardbeg 1974 uitgebracht

2003

Ardbeg Uigedail uitgebracht

2004

Ardbeg Very Young uitgebracht

Ardbeg Kildalton Limited Edition

uitgebracht (not peated)

2005

Ardbeg Serendipity (with Glen Moray)

uitgebracht

2006

Ardbeg 1965 uitgebracht

Ardbeg Still Young uitgebracht

Ardbeg Almost There 9 years old

uitgebracht

Airigh Nam Beist uitgebracht

2007

Ardbeg Mor a 10 yer old 4,5 Ltr is

released

2008

Ardbeg Corryvreckan, Rennaissance,

Blasda, Mor 11 are relased

2009

Supernova released the peatiest Ardbeg

ever

2010

Rollercoaster, Supernova 2010 released

2011

Alligator released

2012

Ardbeg Day, Gallileo released

2013

Ardbog released

2014

Auriverdes, Kildalton are released

2015

Perpetum, Supernova 2015 released

2016

Dark Cove, twenty Something 21 year

old are released

2017

An Oa, Kelpie, Twenty Something 23

year are released

2018

Grooves, Twenty Something 22 year are

released

2019

Drum, Traigh Bhan Batch 1 released

A new Stillhouse is build

2020

Capacity: 2.400.000 Ltrs

Output: 1.500.000 Ltrs

Blaaack, Wee Beastie, Traig Bhan Batch 2

are released

2021

An 8 years old, a 25 years old, Arrrrrrrbeg

Scorch and Traigh Bhan Batch 3 are released

2022

fermatation, Ardcore, Smoketrails, Traigh Bhan Batch 4 are lanched

Islay has a rich historical past spanning a thousand years. At one time the sear of the mediaeval kingdom of the 'Lords of the Isles' who ruled the whole of the Western Isles of Scotland and used the sea as the highway for their 'longships',

Over the centuries Islay has been occupied by Celts, Picts, Gaels and Vikings and indeed some of the old ruins standing on the island are reminders of a turbulent past.

In fact, some of the Celtic influences are still in evidence on Islay and, close to the Ardbeg Distillery lies the ancient Celtic Cross of Kildalton dating from the 8th century - one of the oldest and finest examples of Celtic art in Scotland. The charateristic 'A', long associated with Ardbeg, is another reminder of the Celtic heritage and is derived from the famous 'Book of Kells' dating from the same period.

Two centuries ago, Ardbeg, which in Gaelic means 'small headland' was the lonely haunt of smugglers. It is located on the south-eastern shore of Islay.

The Ardbeg distillery boasts its own private water source - Loch Uigeadail is soft and pure. The waters of the loch flow over rocks and peat masses making them beautifully adapted for distilling.

Douglas Laing & Co, Ltd

Douglas House 18, Lynedoch Crescent, Glasgow G 3 6 £ Q.

In 1949 Fred Douglas Laing established Douglas Laing & Co primarily as a blender and bottler for his Scotch Whisky blends The King of Scots and House of Peers, which are available today internationally.

Large stocks and reserves of aging Malts in particular, were laid down by Mr. Laing, many being guarded for 25 - 30 years specifically for the older blends such as the 25 and 30 Year Old KING OF SCOTS.

With more than 50 different Malts in stock, over the last 50 years from filling programme, it was obvious that the Malt Master would have certain favourites. These have variously been chalked off the times of regular quality control, as being of particular qualitative interest; both commercially, and for the pleasure of the Directors. It has been their particular perk, benefit and privelege to nose and taste some of the finest quality samples indicative of the Distillers's art.

It was judged by the two current owners/directors (sons of the founder, so nepotism is not dead!) that some of these stocks were 'too good to blend'. And so the OLD MALT CASK selection was developed in 1999 to extend those perks and benefits beyond the Director's tasting suite!

Initially it was felt that 50 different Malts commemorating the Company's 50th Anniversary would be approciate. That tally has now been exeeded but our preferred strenght of 50 X alc/vol is maintained. We believe this strenght creates a fine, round, full quality for various Malts when taken 'neat'. It also allows the regular consumer to know precisely how much or little water should be added to this artisan and craftman's distillate.

These selected Malt Whiskies have waited many years to reach their classic heights of qua-lity. Not only with your health in mind, but with a view to greater enjoyment, may we suggest that in the style of the founder, whose signature endorses your Malt, you enjoy its glass leisurely and slowly.

Douglas Laing.

Tasting Notes Cask No. 2397:

Colour: Deep golden

Aroma:

Ardbeg at its most paradoxial - powerful and pungent, yet displaying a degree of delicacy and

balsamic freshness. At full strength, dark chocolate is filled with cherry brandy and infused with tarry peat smoke. Marzipan, toffee and vanilla mingle with rum and raisin ice cream; then the sweetness is sliced through by pungent black peppercorns, fennel and the salty - balsamic complexity of menthol, pine resin and sea spray. Barbequed bananas, cinnamon -

spiced pears and caramalised walnuts bring sizzling warmth and deep maturity.

With water, waves of classic Ardbeg notes emerge, fused with juicy malt, luscious fruits

and oily nuts: tarry ropes, briny sea - salt and fresh zesty limes battle it out against blueberry

pie, spiced plum skins and weighty crushed sultanas. Creamy honey, treacle toffee and hazel-

nuts collide with pinesap, cedar and iodine. Espresso and cream simmers bin the background.

Taste:

Rich and oily with an intense burst of smoked berry fruits, treacle and juicy malt. The taste is

initially deep and powerful as an avalanche of mouthwatering baked blueberry pie, dried

apricots, dates and plums deepens and rolls over the tongue, drizzled with treacle and sprink-

ling of peaty - demerara sugar. A mouthful of Macchiato coffee and clotted cream rises to

a crescendo bringing a robust and earthy warmth, before a wave of briny - iodine, powdery

violets and walnut oil freshens then dries the palate with lingering tarry espresso.

Finish:

Long, spiced, oily and salty with spiced blueberry, treacle, sun - dried raisins and walnut oil.

Dr. W.B. Lumsden, Master Distiller

In the headlong rush of science in the late autumn of 2011, a rocket ship blasted off this

earth at 25.000 mph. Deep within it, no ordinary cargo, for the rocket carried research

vials of precious Ardbeg - crafted molecules, the beginning of a fascinating first in re -

search experiment by Ardbeg in …… space!

This is the most audacious adventure ever undertaken by Ardbeg Distillery ( or any other

small part to time spent in the gathering vat. Here we marry together whisky from

The Distillery is sheltered from the harsh excess of the mighty Atlantic by the

great and noble whisky.

The Ardbeg Distillery lies on the most southerly part of Islay on the rugged shores of the

Atlantic Ocean.

Ardbeg Distillery is subject to fierce winds, driving rain and eerie coverings of mist.

These weather conditions would be more extreme were it not fort he shelter of the Mull

of Oa. The Distillery is sheltered from the harsh excess of the mighty Atlantic by the

rounded Oa, the inspiration fort he outstanding Ardbeg An Oa.

Like the peninsula that shares its name, Ardbeg An Oa is particularly rounded, due in no

small part to time spent in the gathering vat. Here we marry together whisky from

several different casks, including new charred oak, PX sherry and first fill bourbon. Here

they beca,e fully familar with each other.

The result is a dram with smoky power, mellowed by a delectable, smooth sweetness.

Hallmark Ardbeg peat, dark chocolate and aniseed are wrapped in smooth, silky

butterscotch, black pepper and clove, before rising to an intense crescendo of flavour.

Sinds 1798 was de familie MacDougall actief als boeren op grond te Ardbeg, Airigh nam Beist en de helft van Lagavulin. Er werd toen ook al gedistilleerd, maar hoofdzakelijk voor eigen gebruik.

Het commercieel distilleren nam een aanvang in 1815 toen John MacDougall, financieel gesteund door Thomas Buchanan Jr, koopman te Glasgow een distilleerderij begon.

In 1835 was de produktie ongeveer 2260 liter spirit per jaar.

In 1838 verleende Walter Frederick Campbell, de landeigenaar, een pachtovereenkomst voor de Ardbeg boerderij en distilleerderij, en 8000 vierkante meter grond voor zeven en vijftig jaar aan Thomas Buchanan Jr, het bedrag was £ 1800.

John's zoon Alexander, die de handelsnaam voerde Alexander MacDougall & Co. Alexander raakte later invalide en zijn zuster Margaret werd mede licentiehouder. Colin Hay, de zoon van de koetsier van Walter Frederick in 1853

werd met Flora, de zuster van Margaret partner.Tijdens het leiderschap van Colin Hay groeide Ardbeg uit tot een kleine gemeenschap van ongeveer 200 mensen.

Colin Hay werd de alleen eigenaar na de dood van de zusters Margareth en Flora. Colin Hay had twee zoons, waarvan Colin distillateur werd en Walter dokter, en ook aandeelhouder in de distilleerderij.

De Buchanan's waren nog steeds financieel betrokken bij Ardbeg.

Barnard, die Ardbeg bezocht in 1886, nam waar dat Ardbeg toen een wash still had van 18.160 liter, een spirit still van 1362 liter en men had 60 man personeel, 1135 miljoen liter per jaar produceerde !

In 1888 werd een nieuwe huurovereenkomst verleend aan Alexander Wilson Gray Buchanan en Colin Hay, met het recht gebruik te maken van de pier te Ardbeg. De huur van de pier was £ 100.

Colin Hay stierf op 10 Februari 1899.

In 1959 werd Ardbeg Distillery Ltd gevormd, gevolgd door Ardbeg Distillery Trust in 1973, met als deelnemers The Distillers Company Ltd (D.C.L) en Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd.

Distillery operating hours:6 days/week, 24 hours/day

Number of employees: 13 full-time; 2 part-time; 8 seasonal

Water source: Loch Uigeadail

Water reserve: est 55 million gallons

Water colour: brown

Peat content of water: trace

Malt source: Port Ellen

Own floor maltings: no

Malt type: Optic

Malt specification phenols: average 54 ppm

Finished spirit phenols: average 23-24 ppm

from May 1998; 16-17 ppm previously

Malt storage: 70 tonnes

Mill type: Boby, installed 1881

Grist storage: 5 tonnes

Mash tun construction: stainless steel, semi-lauter

Mash size: 4,5 tonnes

First water: 17.500 litres at 64o C

Second water: 8.000 litres at 82o C

Third water: 17.500 litres at 90o C

Number of washbacks: 6

Wash construction: Oregon pine

Wasback charge: 23.500 litres

Yeast: Mauri cultered yeast

Amount of yeast: 75 kg per washback

Lengt of fermentation:

65-68 hours (shorts: week):

96 hours (longs: weekend)

Initial fermentation temperature:

20o C (16o C idfa Fridays)

Strenght of wash: 8 per cent abv

Number of wash stills: 1

Wash still built: 1974

Wash still capacity: 18.279 litres

Wash still charge: 11.700 litres

(64 per cent of capacity)

Heat source: steam coil with heating pans

Wash still height: 12 feet 3 inches (3.73 m)

Wash still shape: lamp-glass

Lyne arm: very gently rising

Lenght of low-wines run: around 5 hours

Low-wines collection range:

46 per cent abv - 1 per cent ab

Number of spirit stills: 1

Spirit still built: 2001

Spirit still capacity: 16.957 litres

Spirit still charge: 13.660 litres

(81 per cent of capacity)

Strenght of spirit still charge: 2

5 per cent abv

Heat source:

steam coil with heating pans

Spirit still height: 12 feet (3.66 m)

Spirit still shape: lamp-glass

Lyne arm: gently rising

Purifier:yes

Condensers:

two, externally sited, containing 238 tubes

Lenght of foreshot run: around 10 minutes

Lenght of spirit run:around 5 hours 15 minutes

Lenght of feints run: around 3 hours 30 minutes

Spirit cut: 73 per cent abv - 62.5 per cent abv

Distilling strenght:

69.5 per cent abv - 70.5 per cent abv

Storage strenght: 63.5 per cent abv

Average spirit yield:

402.1 litres of pure alcohol per

tonne of malt (2003)

Disposal of pot ale and spent lees to

local contractors for spreading on farmland

Type of casks filled for branded malt:

50 per cent first-fill bourbon

(chiefly ex-Jack Daniels air-dried wood,

barrels rather than hogsheads);

50 per cent second-fill bourbon

(same origins); very little sherry;

futher finishes and experiments in hand

Current annual output:

950.000 litres of pure alcohol

Number of warehouses:

5 (numbered 3, 9, 10, 10 X and 11)

Type of warehouses dunnage:

(3, 9, 10 X); racked (10, 11)

Storage capacity on Islay: 24.000 casks

Percentage of branded malt entirely:

100 per cent at present. In future all

branded

malt aged on Islay will spend at least

10 years on Islay

Vatting and bottling location: Broxburn

Distillery expressions: 10 year old,

17- year old, Uigeadail, Lord of the Isles

(25- year old) Vintage-dated bottling,

Ardbeg committee bottlings,

Major blending roles: Ballantyne's,

Teacher's, Black Bottle

In 1977

werd Hiram Walker de alleen eigenaar, voor

£ 300.000.

In 1982

werd Ardbeg gesloten met een verlies van

18 banen.

Tussen 1982 en 1989 werd Ardbeg verbouwd

en toen verdween ook de mouterij.

In 1989 werd

Ardbeg weer opgestart.

In 1996

werd Ardbeg weer gesloten.

In Maart 1997 verkoopt Allied Domecq Ardbeg aan Glenmorangie Plc voor £ 7.000.000, inclusief merknaam en voorraad.

Glenmorangie Plc heeft enorm geinvesteerd in Ardbeg. Naast het op de markt brengen van de verschillende bottelingen heeft men ook de distilleerderij zelf grondig onder handen genomen .

Men beschikt nu over een lunchroom, congresruimte en een bezoekers centrum met winkel. Dit alles is gevestigd in de oude mouterij No. 1 waar vroeger in twee kilns de gerst werd gedroogd.

In de toekomst wil men ook zelf weer gaan mouten.Ardbeg heeft twee met stoomverhitte ketels met een kapaciteit van ongeveer 600.000 liter spirit per jaar

De gebruikte vaten zijn sinds de overname door Glenmorangie Plc, Amerikaanse refill Bourbon vaten, afkomstig van Heaven Hill en Makers Mark. Het koel- en proceswater komt van de Loch Uisgeadale.en Loch Iaran. De mout komt van Port Ellen Maltings.

Ian Henderson was de manager van Ardbeg tot in 1997 toen Edwin Dobson afkomstig van Glen Moray, manager werd.

De Mash tun is 4 ton.

De zes Wash backs zijn groot 28.000 liter.

De Wash stills is groot 21.000 liter, de Spirit still 17.000 liter.

Edwin Dobson, de eerste manager na Henderson van Ardbeg, en een soort wegbereider werd opgevolgd door Stuart Thomson. De toekomst van Ardbeg werd onzeker in 1978 toen Hiram Walker en Allied samen gingen.Men bezat nu twee distilleerderijen op Islay: Ardbeg en Laphroaig. Ardbeg was gesloten van 1981 tot 1989.Gedurende 1989 - 1996 was Ardbeg jaarlijks twee maanden in bedrijf.

Toen in 1997 Ardbeg werd aangekocht doorGlenmorangie plc was de distilleerderij in een staat van verval. Glenmorangie ging toen ook de verplichting aan jaarlijks 150.000 liter Ardbeg te leveren voor de blends Ballantines en Teachers. Ardbeg produceerde maar een paar maanden in 1997.

De staat van de distilleerderij was zo siecht dat als gevolg van technische Problemen de produktie moest worden gestaakt van October 1997 tot April 1998. £ 3,5 miljoen investeerde Glenmorangie in reparaties

en herstel, alleen het bezoekerscen-trum vroeg al een bedrag van £ 750.000. 0p 28 Juni 1997 kwam er voor het eerst weer whisky uit de ketels van Ardbeg.

Ardbeg gebruikt voor het distillatie- en koelingproces ongeveer 700.000 liter water per week.

Brand owned by:Glenmorangie Plc

Manager:Stuart Thomson

Production: 18.000 litres pure alcohol per week

Share used for single malt: Half of total production;

the rest is sold for blending, though this may change

Degree of peating: 50 ppm compared to Laproaig's 35 ppm

Water source: Loch Uigedale, three miles from the distillery

Peculiarities of wash still:It has a purifier on the lyne arm

which captures the heavier more impure alcohols and brings

them back to the still for further distilling. This explains the

complex character of Ardbeg.

Wood: Ex-bourbon casks

Shorty: a Jack Russell terrier, is the dog at Ardbeg.

1975

Delicate nose but pungently peaty on the palate, big and robust with hints of oak

1978

Oak on the nose with traces of bourbon against a peaty background. Well-balanced on

the palate with floral traces and refined oak.

PROVENANCE

Peaty, bourbon nose, plenty of smoke; palate big with smoke tar, chocolate and cocoa,

long memorable finish.

17 YEARS OLD

Peaty and sweet on the nose with hints of bourbon. Smoky peat with good balance and a

hint of orange choclate.

1794

Er wordt melding gemaakt dat op de

plek waar in 1815 de Ardbeg

distilleerderij zou worden gebouwd

1815

Ardbeg wordt gesticht door John MacDougall

1853

Na de dood van Alexander MacDougall,

de zoon van John, nemen zijn zusters,

Margareth en Flora, geholpen door

Colin Hay de distilleerderij over en

na de dood van de

twee zusters MacDougall gaat

Colin Hay alleen verder

1888

Collin Hay en Alexander Wilson

zijn de licentienemers

1900

Colin Hay wordt opgevolgd door zijn zoon

1902

Alexander MacDougall & Co werd een

Limited Company.

1959

Ardbeg Distillery Ltd gesticht

1973

Ardbeg Distillery Trust gevormd door

The Distillers Company Ltd

(D.C.L.) en Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd

1977

Hiram Walker wordt de alleen eigenaar

De mouterij wordt gesloten

1979

Kildalton, een minder turfgerookte malt

wordt gedurende een aantal jaren geproduceerd

1981

Ardbeg sluit

1987

Allied Lyons neemt Hiram Walker over

1989

Ardbeg wordt weer opgestart

Iain Henderson is de manager

1996

Ardbeg sluit in Juli, en Ardbeg wordt te

koop aangeboden

1997

Glenmorangie plc neemt Ardbeg over

voor £ 7 miljoen

Ardbeg wordt weer opgestart op 25 Juni

De voorraad whisky heeft een waarde van

£ 5,5 miljoen,

rest voor het zwaar vervallen gebouwencomplex

£ 1,5 miljoen

Ardbeg 17 years old en de Provenance

worden uitgebracht

1998

Bezoekerscentrum geopend

2000

Ardbeg 10 years old uitgebracht

Ardbeg Committee opgericht

2001

Lord of the Isles uitgebracht

Ardbeg 1977 uitgebracht

2002

Ardbeg Committee Rserve uitgebracht

Ardbeg 1974 uitgebracht

2003

Ardbeg Uigedail uitgebracht

2004

Ardbeg Very Young uitgebracht

Ardbeg Kildalton Limited Edition uitgebracht

(not peated)

2005

Ardbeg Serendipity (with Glen Moray)

uitgebracht

2006

Ardbeg 1965 uitgebracht

Ardbeg Still Young uitgebracht

2007

Managers echtpaar is Stuart én Jacky Thomson

At one time the

sear of the mediaeval kingdom of the 'Lords of the Isles' who

ruled the whole of the Western Isles of Scotland and used

the sea as the highway for their 'longships',