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1257 Kensington Road NW
1 (403) 283-8000 / atyourservice@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Limit 1 Per Customer! There is a little bit of mystery about this Islay single malt, but if you recognize the charming woman on the label, you'll recognize immediately that this must be an Ardbeg. Matured in a Refill Barrel for 31 years before bottling at 50.6%.
Producer Description
"Introducing the first in a new, limited mini-series called Islay Sponge. A celebration of all things whacky and wonderful about Islay and it's tasty whiskies. This is a single refill barrel of 1990 unnamed Islay single malt - although it is almost certainly from a distillery on the south shore of the Island. It's peaty, coastal and fruity in all the right ways! Part 1 features the legendary Jackie T and a youthful, side-burned Sponge."
700ml mlProducer Tasting Note
Nose: oily and medicinal Islay peat, full of soft notes of iodine and TCP, but also gauze, seawater, grapefruit, and waxy lemon rind. Gentle, deeply evocative, and beautiful.
Palate: immediately full of these mature and long-aged peat flavours. Smoked teas, dried exotic fruits, mineral notes of beach pebble and some dried seaweed impressions – complex and harmonious.
Finish: long, with green fruits, softly smoky herbaceous notes, fennel and persistent traces of iodine.
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Evan here - I am not going to get into Ardbeg’s history or location or ownership too much. It is old, and it is on Islay. To say more is to preach to the choir for the most part. If you are keen to know more, just mispronounce the name as ‘Ardberg’ within the hearing of Andrew or Curt. You will quickly be corrected and then likely be given the chronological timeline of the distillery in question as well as a thorough essay on why it is perhaps the best distillery on Islay, if not in Scotland itself.
Anyhow. For a relatively small distillery, Ardbeg’s releases have become relatively prolific over the past few years. The distillery can boast about having the most rabid fan base in the world of Single Malt Scotch, and many of its releases correlate with this. Just about every limited edition bottle of Ardbeg is released to Ardbeg Committee Members first. Membership is free and allows you to find out when the next Ardbeg Limited Release is, well, released.
The core range of Ardbeg is strong. If you like you want a taste of what all of the fuss is about when it comes to Ardbeg, the regular Ardbeg 10-Year-Old is a great place to start. If you want a bottle that is a wee bit sweeter and goes in a few more directions when it comes to flavour profile, Ardbeg An Oa should suit you. The combination of peat Sherry is your thing? Then go for the Ardbeg Uigeadail. If you want the Ardbeg-ness of Ardbeg dialled up to 11, go for the Corryvreckan. And now, if you find yourself craving a release of Ardbeg that has an age statement, but you already have the Ardbeg 10, you can go for the Wee Beastie!
