Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 40%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: Yes
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Moet Hennessy
Average price: € 180.00
Official website: www.ardbeg.com
The history of Ardbeg and the dark period that preceded the arrival of the current owners is well known to everyone: limited production, a state of semi-abandonment of the entire site, a huge number of casks in dilapidated warehouses with no maintenance.
In the early years of the new management, while waiting for new stills to breathe new life into the distillery, several editions were produced from casks already in Islay’s battered warehouses, including the seventeen-year-old released between 1997 and 2004, which many remember as a memorable malt.
Bill Lumsden, the patron saint of contemporary Ardbeg, decided to embark on one of his many projects that straddle the line between genius and pretension, and attempted to recreate the exact same profile as that bottling so many years ago.
Blending peated and unpeated casks, reducing the alcohol content to the minimum allowed, chillfiltration, all in the spirit of how this 17-year-old Ardbeg was made up to twenty years ago.
Released in September 2024 to Ardbeg Committee members only, but now widely available, let’s see if it’s all hat and no cattle.
Tasting Notes
The nose is coastal and slightly medicinal with lots of seafood, oysters, smoked mussels, nori seaweed, Taggiasca olives and peat with an elegant spiciness, an earthy smoke that is sharp but not overpowering. In the background, fruit, including pineapple, apple and peach, with scattered citrus (lime, grapefruit), accompanied by black tea, vanilla, spices (black pepper, cumin) and wood. A subtle vein of diesel on the palate. Curious and inviting.
On the palate, the low alcohol content is immediately noticeable, a light body that dilutes the aromas, starting with the low spices (aniseed and ginger in particular), making them fleeting and not very penetrating. The whole coastline is almost absent, leaving a salty accent on citrus, white and tropical fruits, vanilla, liquorice, wood shavings and ash. A hint of asphalt in the background.
Rather short and bitter finish of burnt plastic, pineapple, liquorice, aniseed, ash.
I haven’t tasted the original, but this is a cliffnote on why you shouldn’t reduce certain single malts to the minimum alcohol content: Blasda was already a reminder, this just confirms it. It’s a shame, because the nose was elegant and complex enough to promise more; the palate seems designed to displease everyone, Ardbeg lovers and non-invasive peat lovers alike.
Vote: 79/100