With a spirit as powerful as Ardbeg's, careful
cask selection is pretty much all you can do to
influence the end result that ends up being bottled
as Ardbeg. The problem is that the new owners
have already bottled most or the really good casks
that were laid to rest before 1983 - or sold them to
independent bottlers like Douglas Laing or Adelphi.
The result: old OB's are now insanely overpriced.

I wonder what would have happened to Ardbeg
if Mark Reynier had bought Ardbeg when it became
available, like he originally planned. I guess Mark
is probably better off with Bruichladdich, the other
distillery on Islay that he bought instead. The far
lighter style of the Bruichladdich malts has allowed
Mark and his team to experiment a lot with the
maturing spirit; both the older stocks laid down by
the previous ownders as the stuff they distilled
themselves since 2001.

Unfortunately, the success didn't last forever.
In 1983, less than a century later, the distillery closed. Don't
worry, though - to the relief of peat lovers around the world,
production resumed in 1989. The unfanned maltings that gave
pre-1989 distillates their unique 'espresso style' peatiness
remained closed, though.

In 1990 Ardbeg joined Allied distillers - but not for long.
Glenmorangie bought the distillery in 1997. The purchase
and restoration of the distillery required over 10 million British
pounds but it turned out to be more than worth it. Helped by
clever marketing and solid performance Ardbeg has made a
major comeback around the turn of the millennium.

Ardbeg is also a good example
of the sometimes very complex
structure of ownership in the
Scotch malt whisky world.
 
The owner of Ardbeg distillery
is Glenmorangie Plc . - owners
of the distilleries Glenmorangie
and Glen Moray as well. They
are owned by Moët Hennessy,
which in turn is owned by the
LVMH group (which stands for
Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy)
and Diageo (owner over more
than two dozen distilleries.
 
Are you still with me?
According to its own web site,
the LVMH group is the 'world
leader in luxury' - and it shows
in the prices. Even the most
mundane Ardbeg expressions
have a 'deluxe' price tag these
days, making the distillery drop
from my list of Top 10 favourite
distilleries some time ago.

The 10yo and 17yo 'standard' official bottlings were very good and relatively modestly priced, but at some point these affordable expressions became hard to find. No wonder because Ardbeg, like many other distilleries, was silent for a large part of the 1980's. During most of the 1990's Ardbeg was very hard to find apart from the odd Gordon & MacPhail bottling, but by the time the new owners had the distillery up and running again Ardbeg was becoming more widely availablel.

One relatively new 'player' on the market (at least around 2000) that helped Ardbeg achieve the cult status it has today is independent bottler Douglas Laing. When they turned their attention from blends to single malts they discovered that they were sitting on a gold mine of casks filled with Ardbeg from the 1970's. Especially the malts that were distilled in the early 1970's (before there was a change in production regime) were stunning! I have yet to taste an 'official' bottling that can match some of these 'Old Malt Cask' bottlings released around the year 2000.

Ardbeg was officially established as early as 1815, but the Ardbeg
distillery probably pre-dates its 'commercial' (and legal) start by a
decade or two. In 1815 the MacDougall family started production
at the site and in 1886 almost a third of all the townsfolk worked
at the distillery. In those days the annual production exceeded
300,000 US gallons. Not too shabby at all for a little family factory!

The Ardbeg distillery lies on the South shore of Islay, close to the
other 'Kildalton' distilleries (Lagavulin and Laphroaig). This coast
line is home to some of the scary peat monsters that sometimes
keep me up at night... The style of the Kildalton malts often has
some more 'organics' than those from other parts of the island.

1) Casks of Ardbeg whisky are stored at the distillery in four warehouses. Two are of the traditional 'dunnage' type while the other two are 'racked' warehouses. Together they hold up to 24,000 casks of whisky.

2) Ardbeg buys its peated malt from the nearby Port Ellen maltings that also produces the peated malt for most other distilleries on the island according to their exact specifications . The phenolic level of Ardbeg is set at 55 PPM, which is not extremely peaty compared to some other Islay distilleries.

3) Official bottlings of Ardbeg released in the late 1990's were excellent without exception, but it seems that the quality has been slipping since the early noughties. After some other developments (steadily rising prices, the incredible 'Serendipity' story, the takeover by 'nouveau riche' company Louis Vuitton) this was the last drop that pushed Ardbeg from the #1 spot in my Top 10 of favourite distilleries a few years ago - and from the list altogether after they started releasing 'pimp' expressions like the Ardbeg 1965 and the Double Barrel at insulting prices.

By the end of 2005 I had sampled well over 50 different Ardbegs - almost all of them superb.
So, selecting just a few 'personal favourits' for this distillery profile wasn't easy.

The Ardbeg 9yo 1991/2001 (46%, Murray McDavid, MM2999, 70cl) is my favourite amongst the pre-teen independent bottlings I've tried during my first decade of dramming . However, I should probably add that almost every other young IB (with the exception of some McGibbon's and Samaroli bottlings) scored above average.
Nose: Dusty. Dry. Light fruits. Menthol? Mint? Slightly oily. Not very expressive at first.
It smells a bit like the attic of an old grain warehouse. Sweaty socks later on. Organics.
Softly sweet. Strange aroma's for an Ardbeg. Over time, the nose grows more powerful.
Salt. Horse stable. Leather. Bandages? Yes! Still, I can't find a trace of peat in the nose.
Taste: Sourish and smooth start. Restrained, but it develops into a big dry burn.
Slightly gritty. More salt and sweet sensations after a while. Overall improvement.
Wow, this one really needs a few minutes! Some peat. A dry, deep burn and a salty finish.
Score: 87 points - it didn't seem 'Ardbeggish' at first, but then there was a sudden Islay explosion.

The Ardbeg 10yo 'TEN' (46%, OB, bottled +/- 1999, Non Chill-filtered, 70cl) was an early release.
Nose: Starts off rather light- especially at 46%. Sweet at first, followed by smoke and brine.
Needs a few minutes. Salt & ammoniac. Still, there's a constant sweetness in the background.
More iodine than peat, which gives it more of an 'extreme' Islay character than the 17yo.
Taste: A sweet burn picks some salt along the way before developing into a mild Ardbeg explosion.
Very well balanced - the overall profile becomes more 'Islay' after a few minutes in the glass.
Nice and sweet at first, with a long Ardbeg bang in the middle and a satisfying finish.
Score: 89 points - but it definitely needs a while to reach it's full potential.

The Ardbeg 17yo (40%, OB, bottled +/- 1997, code L7 338 4ML 11:40, 70cl) was one of the very first batches released in - or possibly shortly after - the year Glenmorangie took over control of the distillery.
Nose: One of the best bouquets I ever experienced. Hints of oak and salt. Brine.
Some peat, balanced with some sourness and an almost Speyside-like sweetness.
Complex; even more so after I added a few drops of water and it had some time to breathe.
Taste: Starts off quite soft, but after the trademark "delay" it fully reveals its Islay character.
Peppery finish. In the end, it showed the bitter finish I found in other Ardbegs as well.
This is one of the few malts that seems to improve in the months after opening the bottle.
Score: 92 points - simply magnificent! Make sure to take your time with this one, though.

The Ardbeg 17yo (40%, OB, bottled +/- 2000, code L9 303 4ML 03:13, 70cl) was a later release than the one I just mentioned, my best estimate would be the year 2000. It seemed notably less peaty to me.
Nose: Soft start. After some breathing it developed a broad, Speysidish sweetness.
Sweet & sour. Balanced and complex with a whole range of aroma's. Almonds?
Just a few drops caused a new nasal explosion - some oiliness or vegetables?
Taste: Starts out soft, but a wonderful gentle burn soon starts warming your mouth.
The Islay centre slowly dissolves into a bitter finish. Definitely highly recommendable!
Just like a blend of 40% Bowmore, 30% Laphroaig and 30% Bunnahabhain, I imagine.
Score: 89 points - great, but I liked the slightly 'rougher' first batches a little better.

The Ardbeg 25yo 'Lord of the Isles' (46%, OB, bottled in 2001, 70cl) was the very first bottle in Holland, brought to Amsterdam by Ardbeg's Stuart Thompson for a tasting session at De Still in November 2001.
The 'LotI' is a vatting of 15% sherry casks and 85% bourbon casks from 1974, '75 and '76.
Nose: Very rich, presenting a broad spectrum of fragrances. This is very good stuff!
Much more iodine than the other Ardbegs I've tasted - almost like a Laphroaig.
Taste: Very smoky! With a few drops of water it opens up. Sherry and liquorice.
Strangely enough, this somehow 'feels' like a vatting. Slightly short on substance.
Score: 90 points - a very fine malt, but not worth the extravagant asking price, IMHO.

The last OB I'd like to mention is the first release of Ardbeg Uigeadail (54.2%, OB).
I first tried it in December 2003 with Krishna and Mark before they left for Alsace.
Nose: Deep and brooding, but not as powerful as I expected at first. Then it opens up.
Organics and swampy aroma's. Seems not quite as peaty as the 10yo and even the 17yo.
A hint of sweetness as well, but not as fruity as the 17yo. Really needs a few minutes.
With a dash of water the peat jumps to the foreground. More smoke and dust as well.
Taste: At C/S there's plenty of peat. Af a short 'delay' it becomes very salty and smoke.
There's a sour undercurrent as well, which slowly takes over and becomes dry and woody.
It's a bloody great dram, but I wouldn't score it as high on the palate as on the nose.
Score: 89 points for now, but if this bottle behaves anything like the other Ardbeg OB's I've tried it will improve with time, meaning it could easily reach the lower 90's in due time. That being said, I don't quite think this is a match for the Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength 'Green Stripe' that offers incredible value at +/- 50 Euro's.

Official bottlings of Ardbeg have been plentiful since the late 1990's, but for those who'd like to see even more variety the independent bottlers offer an extensive selection of single cask bottlings to choose from. I've selected three of my personal favourite independent Ardbegs for this distillery profile - all Douglas Laing bottlings.
You can find a complete overview of all independent bottlings I tried on my Track Record.

The Ardbeg 25yo 1975/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing OMC, D 10/1975, B 10/2000, 702 Bottles) is the top scoring independent Ardbeg on my Hit List - and for once I can fully agree with Jim Murray who loves it as well.
Nose: Soft, almost grainy start, evolving into an odd combination of salt and sweet notes.
Then fruits, spices and salt emerge. Not peaty as some other old OMC's I've tried at first.
Slowly grows drier, peatier and more serious. Some faint medicinal elements pop up.
A slideshow of fragrances; white pepper, tobacco - then horse stable and old leather.
Taste: Peaty from the start, but balanced by a gentle sweetness. Dry prickle. Smoke.
Soft delayed explosion that seems to last forever. Great mouth feel. Medicinal.
Not the most complex palate I've ever tasted, but an Islay malt pur sang.
Doesn't really need water but it can stand a few drops. More salt, chalk and dust.
Score: 96 points - but give this one at least one hour or you'll miss a lot of fun!!!
The very best expression from the Ardbeg distillery I've tried so far. Great whisky!

The Ardbeg 29yo 1973/2002 (51.4%, Douglas Laing Platinum, 137 bottles) is magnificent as well. And like so many other magnificent malts I've tried it was supplied by Serge Valentin - thanks, mon ami!
Nose: Fruity at first, growing peatier quickly. Subtle and complex organics. Grains.
Oh boy, I'm in peat heaven. It's no 'monster' though - it's surprisingly subtle. Rubber.
With 10 drops of water a whole new brigade of organics and veggy notes is unleashed.
Taste: Sweet and round at first; easily drinkable at this strength. Salt and pepper.
And then there's peat - lots of peat. What a great body - this is the Heidi Klum of malts.
Score: 95 points - it seems the Laings have done it again. What a whopper of a whisky!
Too bad I only had a sample, or I could have done a H2H with the 25yo on my Top Shelf.
The second best Ardbeg I've ever tried - a very impressive work of distillation art.

Last but not least: Ardbeg 24yo 1975/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask, 713 bottles).
Nose: Almost mellow at first, but you can sense the power beneath the surface. Yeast?
Quite clean and a little grainy. Light fruits, sourish notes and some subtle smoke at first.
Then the peat comes to the foreground, followed by leather, salt, brine and horse stable aroma's.
Rubber? Grain attick. Medicinal. With time more and more fragrances join the nasal orchestra.
Taste: Smashing. Absolutely wonderful combination of sweet and peat.
It develops into a salty center with hints of liquorice. Hugely entertaining.
Mellow peat, smoke and a long dry finish that seems to go on forever.
But there is sweetness too. Faint hints of iodine and liquorice in the finish.
The mouth-feel of this malt is simply amazing - perfectly drinkable at 50%!
Score: 94 points - one of the few malts that makes it into the 90's primarily on taste.
This OMC bottling has lots of subtleties and finesse, without denying its Islay heritage.
 

These were not all the (official and independent) expressions of Ardbeg I've tried over the years.
My Track Record used to contain a complete overview of all the single malts I've tried, but when I passed the 2000 malts mark (and the list wouldn't fit on two separate HTML pages anymore) I gave up. My Liquid Log still contains my tasting notes on most malts I've sampled and scored - but finding notes on a specific expression could be tricky. You might want to use the search box at the top of this page for that. The mAlmanac now contains personal selections of the best and the worst single malts I've tried so far - as well as the ones with the highest 'Bang-For-Your-Buck' value.

But those are all just my own, purely personal opinions. On Serge's distillery profile on Whiskyfun you can find another perspective on the distillery. Check out the Malt Maniacs Monitor on Malt Maniacs for my scores on all expressions I've tried so far - and those of almost all the other certified malt maniacs as well. The Malt Maniacs Matrix contains a few thousand single malts that were sampled and scored by at least four different malt maniacs, so you can compare our individual opinions.