Ardbeg is celebrating the 2023 Fèis Ìle music and whisky festival with a new expression and a continuation of its Planet Ardbeg comic book series.
To mark Ardbeg Day, which falls during the festival, on 3 June, the distillery is launching an experimental limited-edition whisky: Ardbeg Heavy Vapours. It is the first Ardbeg whisky to have been distilled without a purifier, allowing heavier vapours to rise up the still during the distillation process.
Dr Bill Lumsden, who decided to remove the copper purifier from a still to unleash the heavy vapours. The result is an expression that distorts Ardbeg’s classic balance between fruit and smoke. The palate offers notes of peppermint, cardamom, dark chocolate and eucalyptus, brought together by untamable smokiness.
Nose: Smoke with a cloying sweetness. Intense, pungent and aromatic, a distinctive farmyard scent along with creosote. Water brings dark chocolate with smoked artichoke.
Palate: Bittersweetness with ashy coal dust and cardamom, peppermint and coffee grounds. Dark chocolate and mentholic eucalyptus with aniseed, cinnamon balls and antiseptic lozenges.
Finish: The aftertaste lingers long and bold, with an almost numbing sensation.
