Ardbeg Auriverdes Limited Edition Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2014) 70cl
A special edition single malt launched on Ardbeg Day 2014 - a day celebrated both at the Islay festival, Fèis Ìle and around the world.
The team at Ardbeg have triumphed again. Technical skill, balance and perfectly timed maturation make this a WINNING DRAM.
A unique toasting process has created casks that have imparted a formation of flavours to the spirit over many seasons. Tarry and herbal notes open up with the addition of mocha. Now coffee grounds. Here come smoked root vegetables. Light touches of maple-cured bacon. Hot-smoked salmon passes to a smoky vanilla note that lingers before... driving the flavour home!
What a kick... that's no ordinary finish.
Auri(Gold)verdes(Green) is a name used to refer to Brazil's sports teams (including the football team, of course), but in this case it refers to the golden whisky and the iconic Ardbeg green bottle it dwells within
Tasting Notes
Nose : Smoked bacon, Tarry ropes on a not-long-dry seashore. Loads of Vanilla. Pomegranates, Fizzy-sweets (refreshers, Sherbet Lemons) and Lemon-zest. Not convinced I’d have got Mocha, if not for the autosuggestion, but it’s definitely there now I think about it.
Palate : Initially sweet, restrained, more of that bacon, but this time it’s been cured with Muscovado sugar and maybe a touch of Juniper? Progresses through the inevitable onslaught of peat, but it’s there in a slightly different way – more ‘high’, medicinal phenols than we've come to expect with Ardbeg. From the palate alone, I’m not even sure I’d peg this as Ardbeg – I might be tempted to go two distilleries further down the coast…
Finish : Long. Cocoa, Charred corners of a pulled pork butt, becomes more ashy as it fades, but clearly from good honest casks albeit with charred heads.
About Ardbeg
Ardbeg distillery has been producing whisky since 1798. The distillery is owned by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, and produces a heavily peated Islay whisky. The distillery uses malted barley sourced from the maltings in Port Ellen.
The Ardbeg distillery was officially founded in 1815 by John McDougall. But Whisky was distilled there long before that. There are no documentations, as Ardbeg was an illegal business back in 1794. The distillery is now owned by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), which also owns Glenmorangie distillery in the Highlands of Scotland. The current capacity is just over one million litres per annum and its water source is Loch Uigeadail, after which one of its famous releases is named.
49.9% ABV
70cl
