The Ardbeg Twenty Something range has a new addition to the stable with the release of the Ardbeg 22yo – styled on the label as “Guaranteed 22 Years Old”. Distilled in the Spring of 1996 (that’s March through May for us southern-hemisphere folk!) and bottled on the 18th July in 2018 at a strength of 46.4%, the whisky is a vatting of ex-bourbon casks.
To appreciate the significance of this bottling, one needs to understand and appreciate some Ardbeggian history. For 1996 was the year Ardbeg was at its nadir and put up for sale. Of course, the previous 15 years hadn’t been all that rosy either! The distillery was first closed in 1981 and lay dormant for eight years until 1989. Ownership had transferred to Allied Distillers in 1987 (who also owned nearby neighbour Laphroaig), and Allied carried out minor and sporadic production between 1989 and 1996, just a few weeks each year, chiefly just to keep the kit in some form of working order. As the story goes, a crew from Laphroaig would head across to Ardbeg and run the stills for a few weeks on each occasion. But whilst the primary production equipment was at least prevented from rusting out, not a penny was spent on upkeep or maintenance. It’s well documented that Glenmorangie purchased Ardbeg in 1997 for £7M pounds. What’s less known is that £5.5M of this was for the existing stock maturing in the warehouses! In other words, such was the run-down and dilapidated state of the distillery (which hadn’t received any love for over 16 years), Glenmorangie effectively picked up the distillery for just £1.5M pounds!
Ardbeg’s current distillery manager, Mickey Heads, was at Laphroaig at the time and one of the Laphroaig workers who spent time at Ardbeg in 1996 during those few weeks of production that resulted in the spirit that has gone into this new Ardbeg 22 yo bottling. And it is thus with some pride that he’s behind this exciting new release for Ardbeg’s Committee Members. It follows on the heels of last year’s 23yo release.
Ardbeg Twenty Something 22 Years Old is available to Committee Members on October 2nd, 2018 and will have an RRP of AUS$720.
Whisky & Wisdom was fortunate enough to try a sneak preview of the whisky and sat down with a dram to put it through its paces. Our thoughts as follows:
Ardbeg Twenty Something – 22 Years Old
Colour: Pale, moonlit gold. (One suspects the ex-bourbon barrels were second, possibly even third fills).
Nose: Peat is evident, but it’s restrained, as you’d expect for a whisky for this age. In truth, the nose has some commonalities with a good Bowmore…it’s slightly maritime, with sea spray, saline, and coastal notes, but there’s also hints of fruits.
Palate: Sweet on first sip and “darkly” peaty, mixed with more traits of the sea: Squid ink, sea urchin, and also potato skins. Texturally, it’s a lighter Ardbeg – more peaty than smoky, the peat is rich and deep, but it’s silky and refined, rather than brash or bombastic. There are doughy notes – perhaps fresh white bread rolls? – which give way to light fruits, namely rockmelon (cantaloupe) and orange citrus peel. An undercurrent of vanilla sweetness never strays too far from the action.
Finish: Humbugs and licorice mints portray the sweetness initially, but the sweetness slowly transforms into a green bitterness, perhaps like eating raw vegetables. The peat stays constantly brooding on the tongue, and the soft undercurrent of smoke, fruit, and vanilla leaves a welcome footprint behind.
Comments: One of the more maritime Ardbegs I can recall, this dram is certainly complex and displays itself across several dimensions. Those looking for a big, bold, smoky Ardbeg might be disappointed, but then if you’re after big, peaty, smoky Islay drams, don’t buy whisky older than 15 years old. Those looking for a salty, peaty, fragrant and refined Ardbeg will find much to pick out and admire.
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Ardbeg Committee members will by now have received notification from the distillery about this release. If you’re not a member of the Ardbeg Committee, then you should be! The Committee was formed in 2000 and is a fan club for Ardbeg followers around the world who are keen to ensure that Ardbeg’s doors never close again. It’s free to join – you can sign up at Ardbeg’s website.
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For a more detailed synopsis of Ardbeg’s history, you can read Whisky & Wisdom’s account in our review of the Ardbeg 21yo here.
And if you’re interested in other Ardbeg releases, you can read our reviews here:
Ardbeg Grooves
Ardbeg Perpetuum
Ardbeg Dark Cove
Ardbeg Kelpie
Ardbeg An Oa
Ardbeg Supernova 2014
Ardbeg Untamed
Ardbeg Auriverdes
