Ardbeg – 17 Year Old (70cl, 40%)

Ardbeg – 17 Year Old is a single malt whisky from Ardbeg (Islay). Aged 17 years, bottled at 40% ABV, 70cl. Known for its outstandingly smoky drams, the Islay Distillery, Ardbeg was founded by John McDougall in 1815 after taking out a licence. Just under a century later, the name 'Ardbeg' and signature 'A' was registered as a trademark, an iconic recognisable logo for the distillery. Further on in the 20th century, the distillery started outsourcing, using a peated malt from the nearby Port Ellen Distillery in 1974 just before Ardbeg was mothballed for the first time in 1981. Reopened again by Allied Distillers in 1989, it was not long before the distillery was closed for a second time, however, the Glenmorangie Company saved the day by purchasing Ardbeg just before both Glenmorangie and Ardbeg became part of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy. Being awarded World Whisky of the Year more than once, the distillery will continue to succeed, with the plans submitted of increasing the distillation capacity by adding not one, but two more stills in 2018, Ardbeg is only going upwards from here. Ardbeg 17 year old is an increasingly rare bottling, it has been discontinued for a good few years. The first bottling of this sparked the revival of Ardbeg's fortunes after the takeover by Glenmorangie.