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Ardbeg distillery

Coordinates:55°38′26″N06°06′31″W/ 55.64056°N 6.10861°W/55.64056; -6.10861
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Ardbeg distillery
Region:Islay
OwnerLVMH
Founded1815
StatusActive
Water sourceLoch Uigeadail
No.of stills1 wash (18,000 L)
1 spirit (17,000 L)[1]
Capacity1,250,000 litres
Ardbeg
TypeSingle MaltScotch Whisky
Age(s)10 Years
Cask type(s)Bourbon,Sherry
Ardbeg Corryvreckan, named after awhirlpoolsituated to the South of Islay, has a particularly peated flavour.[2]

Ardbeg distillery(Scottish Gaelic:Taigh-staile na h-Àirde Bige) is aScotch whiskydistilleryinArdbegon the North West coast of the isle ofIslay,Argyll and Bute,Scotland,in theInner Hebridesgroup of islands. The distillery is owned byLouis Vuitton Moët Hennessy,and produces a heavilypeatedIslay whisky.[3]The distillery usesmalted barleysourced from the maltings inPort Ellen.

History of the distillery[edit]

The Ardbeg distillery has been producingwhiskysince 1798, and began commercial production in 1815.[4]Like most Scottish distilleries, for most of its history its whisky was produced for use inblended whisky,rather than as asingle malt.By 1886 the distillery was producing 300,000 gallons of whisky per year, and employed 60 workers.[4]Production was halted in 1981, but resumed on a limited basis in 1989 and continued at a low level until late 1996; during the period Ardbeg was owned byHiram Walker.[5]In 1997 the distillery was bought and reopened byGlenmorangieplc (which was subsequently acquired by the French companyLVMHon 28 December 2004).[6]Production resumed 25 June 1997, and full production resumed in 1998. The distillery was reopened by Ed Dodson in 1997 and handed over to Stuart Thomson, who managed it from 1997 to 2006. Michael "Mickey" Heads, an Islay native and former manager atJurawho had worked at Ardbeg years earlier, took over on 12 March 2007. Colin Gordon has followed in his footsteps in August 2020.[7][8]In July 2022, the distillery sold a 1975 cask to a private collector for £16 million, beating Macallan's record for the highest cask selling price.[9][10]

The nameArdbegis ananglicisationof theScottish GaelicAn Àird Bheag,meaningThe Small Promontory.[11]

Awards[edit]

Ardbeg has won various awards at internationalspirit ratingscompetitions. For example:

  • The Connor from Love on the Spectrum for the finest whisky in the world*
  • Jim Murray'sWhisky Bible 2008awarded the Ten Years Old expression the title of 2008 World Whisky of the Year and ScotchSingle Maltof the Year.[12]The Ten Years Old also won a series of medals at the 2006-2012San Francisco World Spirits Competition,winning two gold and six silver medals over that stretch.[13]
  • Jim Murray'sWhisky Bible 2009andWhisky Bible 2010awarded the Uigeadail expression the title of 2009 and 2010 World Whisky of the Year and Scotch Single Malt of the Year. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition awarded the Uigeadail two double gold, three gold, and two silver medals between 2006 and 2012.[14]
  • Ardbeg Galileo won the World's Best Single Malt Whisky in the 2013World Whiskies Awards.[15]

Production[edit]

The distillery output is quite large for a distillery with only twopot stills.The wash still has a capacity of about 18,000 litres, and the spirit still a capacity of about 17,000 litres.[1]This produces approximately 10,000 barrels (1.4 million liters) of spirit per year.[16]The distillery employs about sixty people and also provides them with accommodation on site.[17]Since 2018, a new still house is under construction, which will double Ardbeg's distilling capacity.[18]

In 2011, 20 vials of Ardbeg spirit and wood particles were sent to theInternational Space Stationto investigate their interaction.[19]They returned on 12 September 2014.[20]

Products[edit]

The whiskies of Ardbeg are mostly heavily peated malts. Compared to other Islay malts, Ardbeg does not focus on the sea and salt tastes, but rather on aromas of spices, malt or sweet tones like vanilla and chocolate.[citation needed]The core range of Ardbeg consists of the Ardbeg TEN, Uigeadail and Corryvreckan. The TEN is named after its age. Uigeadail was named after Loch Uigeadail, a loch in the hills about 4 km north of Ardbeg which is a source of water for the distillery. TheCorryvreckanbottle takes its name from a famous sea vortex between the Isle of Jura and the Isle of Scarba.[citation needed]In June 2024, the distillery released a new edition of the Corryvreckan from 2008. The special bottling was created in collaboration with the comic artistTradd Mooreand is limited to 400 bottles.[21]

Cultural references[edit]

Ardbeg inspired theFinnishcomposer of contemporary music,Osmo Tapio Räihälä,to write thesymphonic poemArdbeg—The Ultimate Piece For Orchestra(2003); it was recorded by theFinnish Radio Symphony Orchestraon 28 April 2011.[22]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ab"Ardbeg".29 November 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 29 November 2014.Retrieved17 May2018.
  2. ^Ardbeg Corryvreckan,Ardbeg official site. Accessed on 21 April 2020.
  3. ^"Ardbeg web site".Archived fromthe originalon 30 August 2009.Retrieved9 June2008.
  4. ^abArthur, Helen (2002) [1997].The single malt companion(in Dutch). Translated by Lisbeth Machielsen. Libero. p. 58.ISBN978-9057642364.
  5. ^"Hiram Walker era (under Historical Facts)".masterofmalt.Retrieved27 April2018.
  6. ^"History — The Glenmorangie Company".theglenmorangiecompany.Archived fromthe originalon 14 July 2018.Retrieved17 May2018.
  7. ^"Ardbeg - Colin Gordon tritt Nachfolge von Mickey Heads an | Der Whisky-Botschafter - Passion und Tradition".whiskybotschafter.Retrieved10 July2022.
  8. ^"Colin Gordon wird neuer Distillery Manager von Ardbeg • CaptainScotch.de".CaptainScotch.de(in German). 22 August 2020.Retrieved10 July2022.
  9. ^Ambrose, Tom (9 July 2022)."Cask of scotch whisky bought for record £16m in private sale".The Guardian.Retrieved25 May2024.
  10. ^"Cask of rare Scotch whisky smashes world record with £16mn sale".Financial Times.8 July 2022.Retrieved10 July2022.
  11. ^"Ardbeg".ainmean-aite.scot.Archived fromthe originalon 13 December 2019.Retrieved17 December2017.
  12. ^"Island whisky wins top accolade".BBC News.18 November 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 20 November 2007.Retrieved18 November2007.
  13. ^"Proof66 Summary of Ardbeg 10-Year Awards".Archived fromthe originalon 13 December 2019.Retrieved19 October2012.
  14. ^"Proof66 Summary of Ardbeg Uigeadail Awards".Archived fromthe originalon 13 December 2019.Retrieved19 October2012.
  15. ^"Ardbeg Galileo win World's Best Single Malt Whisky Award".Archived fromthe originalon 12 May 2013.Retrieved10 May2013.
  16. ^Amanda (10 March 2019)."Ardbeg Distillery | The Untamed Spirit | Wandering Spirits Global".wanderingspiritsglobal /.Retrieved8 March2021.
  17. ^Barnard, Alfred (14 July 2013).The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom.Aaron Barker Publishing. p. 207.ISBN978-0-615-85028-3.
  18. ^ Gallagher, Rosemary (19 February 2018)."New still house for Ardbeg as it seals multi-million pound investment to fund big expansion".insider.co.uk.Retrieved19 February2018.
  19. ^"Ardbeg Terpene Extraction - Commercial ISS Research - NanoRacks".nanoracks.Archived fromthe originalon 18 May 2018.Retrieved17 May2018.
  20. ^Ardbeg 'space whisky' back on Earth after flavour experimentBBC', 12 September 2014.
  21. ^patrick_buettgen (6 June 2024)."Ardbeg The Abyss hebt Ur-Corryvreckan aus der Tiefe".CaptainScotch.de(in German).Retrieved6 June2024.
  22. ^"ABCD 367 Osmo Tapio Raihala: Peat, Smoke & Seaweed Storm".alba.fi.Retrieved17 May2018.[permanent dead link]

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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