Ardbeg – 17 Year Old Committee Exclusive (75cl, 40%)

Ardbeg 17 Year Old Committee Exclusive is an Islay single malt released in September 2024 as a limited edition for the Ardbeg Committee. It revives the Ardbeg 17 first released in 1997 and discontinued in 2004. Master blender Gillian Macdonald and the Whisky Creation team recreated the original profile from a combination of peated and unpeated stock. Like the original, it is bottled at 40% ABV and chill-filtered. The nose is fresh and clean, with pine resin, aniseed, sea spray and lavender soap; a little water brings out flinty minerality, sweet peat smoke, malted barley and toasting bread. The palate is creamy, with aniseed toffee, café latte and cocoa over delicate smoke.