Ardbeg has been producing whisky on the Scottish Isle of Islay since 1815. The water used to make Ardbeg comes from Loch Uigeadail and, which is naturally filtered through peat bogs, contributing to the whisky’s complex aroma. Ardbeg has the highest peat content of any whisky thanks to special malting and distilling procedures. The still used to produce the whisky has a unique purifier that removes the heaviest distillates before they pass through the swan’s neck. They are returned to the boiler for re-distillation. This gives the spirit a fruity, floral sweetness. Ardbeg is non chill-filtered ensuring that all of the natural texture and flavors remain intact.
Islay is an island just off the western coast of Scotland that has been making whisky since around 1600. It was the first whisky-producing region in Scotland and is widely respected for its highly peaty scotches. The Irish made whisky long before the Scots and thanks to its close proximity to Ireland, Islay was first to benefit from the already-developed Irish technology.
Despite the English Malt Tax that was placed on every gallon of liquor produced between 1643 and 1707, distillation flourished on Islay. On the mainland, the local lord was responsible for collecting these taxes, but on Islay, it was the sheriff, who was less exacting—and perhaps may have had an affinity for whisky—who served as the collector.
In 1823, distilleries were legalized throughout the country with the provision that they distill a minimum of 180 liters/week in order to ensure consistency.
By most accounts, Ardbeg was founded in 1794, but it operated without a license until 1815, the year of its official incorporation. Laphroaig was incorporated the same year and Lagavulin came along the next. The story goes that pirates ran Ardbeg during those first two decades.
The distillery was purchased by Hiram Walker (an American spirits corporation) in 1976, and then acquired by Allied. Allied closed the Ardbeg distillery in 1981 and did not reopen it until 1989 when it resumed very small scale distilling. Some stock from that time, and the following years, is blended in to the 10 Years-Old today. Finally, Allied closed Ardbeg in 1996 and put the distillery up for sale. Glenmorangie purchased Ardbeg in 1997.
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The water used in the production of Ardbeg comes from a special source called Loch Uigeadail. The water in the Loch naturally filters through peat bogs, which impart a distinct color and flavor to the water. The inherent peatiness of this water accounts for much of the complexity and viscosity of Ardbeg.
During distillation, Ardbeg uses 750,000 liters of water per week. It’s mostly used to the cool the equipment, which doesn’t contaminate the water at all. Because of this, the water can be discharged back into the sea after it’s used.
Peat is such an abundant resource on Islay that many of its residents actually use peat—as opposed to wood—to heat their homes. Thanks to this abundance, combined with its access to Loch Uigeadail, Ardbeg has the highest peat content of any whiskey. This is verified by measuring the phenolic compounds in the whisky. These compounds are known as cresols and are the result of drying malted barley over peat.
The level of phenols in Ardbeg is 54 – 56 parts per million (ppm). By way of comparison, Bowmore (another Islay malt) has phenol levels that average 20 ppm; Glenmorangie has about 1 ppm; Isle of Jura has no measurable phenols at all.
As with most distilleries in Scotland, Ardbeg now purchases its malt. The last malting done at Ardbeg occurred in 1980. Its malt is now custom-prepared for the distillery in a process of drying the barley over peat for 24 hours, followed by 3 hours in fresh air.
When the malt is received, it is loaded into metal bins. 4.5 tons of malt is needed to fill the mash tun. The malt is crushed by powerful rollers and then milled in a Boby mill, which was created in 1881, making it the oldest working mill in the world. Two-thirds of the phenol content is lost in the processes that take place between malting and bottling, so the husks are added back to the wash to capture as many of these phenols as possible.
After mashing and fermentation, the wash is distilled. The stills at Ardbeg are equipped with a purifier, which is essentially a return valve that removes the heavier distillates on the way to the swan’s neck and returns them to the boiler for re-distillation.
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Today, the casks used at Ardbeg are almost exclusively first and second fill ex-bourbon casks from Jack Daniels. In the past, some Sherry butts were used, but now ex-bourbon casks account for 99% of the barrels.
75% of the production of Ardbeg is sold as single malt, and the remaining 25% is used in a variety of blends. The distillery maintains 24,000 casks onsite with another 110,000 held at Glenmorangie’s Broxburn facility.
The heart of the Ardbeg range is the 10 Year-Old. The Uigeadail spring gives its name to another bottling, which includes some whiskies that are more than ten years old, some over twelve years, and a small amount from the 1970s that was matured in sherry casks.
All of the whisky at Ardbeg is bottled at 46% abv. Ardbeg is never chill-filtered, but this higher level of alcohol helps to inhibit the formation of ethyl laurate haze.
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