ArdbegSingle Malt Whisky
Like its fellow southern Ileachs, Laphroaig and Lagavulin, Ardbeg is heavily peated, with a turfy smoke and seaspray character predominant in most bottlings. The distillery fell foul of the global whisky downturn in the late 1970s, which, coupled with some criminal mismanagement by the then owners Hiram Walker, led to the distillery falling silent in 1981. Production resumed sporadically in 1989, but the distillery fell silent again in 1996.
However, all was not lost. In 1997 Ardbeg was taken over by Glenmorangie plc, and the past decade has seen a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for this previously neglected distillery, which now boasts an excellent tour onsite, a cracking restaurant and a worldwide following eager for all things Ardbeg. An initial release of aged stocks bottled as a 17 year-old in newly-designed packaging proved an instant runaway success, and has been followed by a string of highly successful official bottlings.
The core of the range is now the standard 10 year-old - an exuberant, fruity, peaty dram - but there have been several vintage and single cask bottlings that have been elevated to the status of instant classics by Islay aficionados, and surviving bottles of the earlier releases now command sums far in excess of their initial list price.
The success of these new bottlings, coupled with the huge surge of popularity of all things Islay-related in recent years,has also led to a revival of interest in older bottlings of Ardbeg, with the result that independent bottlings released while the distillery was silent in the eighties and early nineties have shot up in value.In particular, vintage releases of Ardbeg from the period before 1977 when the distillery's floor maltings were removed (a dreadful error by Hiram Walker) are extremely highly sought-after.
Character and Style of Ardbeg
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Wet wool (wet dog)
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Carbolic Soap
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Seaweed
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Brine
Sort & Filter
Ardbeg 17 Year Old
£600
(£857.14 per litre)
Ardbeg Twenty Something22 Year Old Embassy Release
£600
(£857.14 per litre)
Ardbeg 199228 Year Old Edition #2 The Kinship
£1,000
(£1,428.57 per litre)
Ardbeg 26 Year OldBot.2019 Kinship
£1,100
(£1,571.43 per litre)
Ardbeg 197419 Year Old Cask #4375-4377 Signatory
£1,100
(£1,571.43 per litre)
Ardbeg 1975Bot 1999
£1,200
(£1,714.29 per litre)
Ardbeg 15 Year Old & Laphroaig 10 Year Old
£1,300
Ardbeg 10 Year OldBot.1980s
£1,500
(£2,000 per litre)
Ardbeg 10 Year Old 'MOR'Full Proof
£1,500
(£333.33 per litre)
Ardbeg 10 Year OldBot.1980s
£1,500
(£2,000 per litre)
Ardbeg 197818 Year Old Cask #271 Adelphi
£1,500
(£2,142.86 per litre)
Ardbeg 197524 Year Old Old Malt Cask
£1,500
(£2,142.86 per litre)
Ardbeg 197525 Year Old Old Malt Cask
£1,500
(£2,142.86 per litre)
Ardbeg 197524 Year Old Old Malt Cask
£1,500
(£2,142.86 per litre)
Ardbeg 25 Year OldLord of the Isles
£2,000
(£2,857.14 per litre)
Ardbeg 197529 Year Old Old & Rare Platinum
£2,500
(£3,571.43 per litre)
Ardbeg 197530 Year Old Old & Rare Platinum
£2,500
(£3,571.43 per litre)
Ardbeg 197529 Year Old Old & Rare Platinum
£2,500
(£3,571.43 per litre)
Ardbeg 197213 Year Old Sestante
£2,500
(£3,333.33 per litre)
Ardbeg 197315 Year Old Moncreiffe
£2,500
(£3,333.33 per litre)
Ardbeg 197625 Year Old Sherry Cask Drumlanrig
£3,000
(£4,285.71 per litre)
SMWS 33.21 (Ardbeg)1977 16 Year Old
£3,000
(£4,285.71 per litre)
Ardbeg 197327 Year Old Old Malt Cask
£3,000
(£4,285.71 per litre)
Ardbeg 197327 Year Old Old Malt Cask
£3,000
(£4,285.71 per litre)