Ardbeg Spectacular Limited Edition

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 46% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

For Spectacular, Ardbeg used port wine casks for the first time and married the whisky matured in them with whisky from bourbon casks. This limited edition was released for Ardbeg Day. Its powerful peat smoke sits alongside floral, sweet and salty notes; the combination of casks sets it apart from Ardbeg’s classic bourbon-cask maturation.

This Islay single malt is bottled at 46% ABV without chill filtration. It has a dense mouthfeel and comes in gift packaging as a 0.7-litre bottle.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Lavender, vetiver and incense give the nose a floral opening. Leather, almonds and a little wax emerge beneath them. With water, wood smoke, damp peat moss and a trace of menthol come forward.
• Palate: On the palate, the whisky feels salty and dense. Powerful peat smoke combines with eucalyptus, salted caramel, smoked pecans, wood smoke, creosote and tar; pear crumble and fudge add sweet accents.
• Finish: The long finish brings back leather and salted caramel, leaving a cooling note of menthol.

Distillery/Bottler:

John Macdougall founded Ardbeg Distillery on Islay in 1815. After several periods of closure, The Glenmorangie Company took over the distillery in 1997 and resumed regular production.

Ardbeg uses peated malt and Oregon pine washbacks. During distillation, a purifier returns heavier vapours to the still, bringing them into further contact with copper. This is one part of the distillery’s approach to combining smoke with sweeter notes. Spectacular is a distillery bottling.

Facts: