Saturday, April 17, 2010

Ardbeg 17 year old

Around the late 1700's Ardbeg existed as an illicit  distillery at Ardbeg farm on the isle of islay,by about 1815 it was licenced to John Macdougall.It sits on the islands southern coast & the whisky writer Alfred Bernard (1880's)  wrote that" its isolation tends to heighten the romantic sense of its position".
By the 1980's due to the financial climate in the whisky industry it found itself mothballed its future uncertain.Luckily for us Ardbeg was rescued by the owners of Glenmorangie,after a considerable
struggle now finds the distillery in a position where its status is continuing to grow among the fans
of islay whiskies & the whisky lover in general.In fact Ardbeg now has quite a few versions (expressions)
of its malt, of which  the 17 y'r old is my favourite.
Whisky writer  M.Jackson said" that its colour waS Shimmering green-gold,
that on the palate it was peppery,but also sweet & that it left the taste of lemon skins
& fresh ground white pepper to linger on the tongue" & Dave Broom described it as
"gingerbread & tar,tangerines,fragrant peatsmoke,silky & smooth.So all that I will
add, is pour yourself a generous glass,,pick up that book that you've wanting to
bury yourself in,then lock the door.You don't need anything else.

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