Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Release Limited Edition Islay Single Malt

Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Release Limited Edition Islay Single Malt

$595 AUD

51.7% ABV 700 ml

This 2017 Ardbeg Committee Release was matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon casks and Russian virgin casks crafted from oak grown in the Adygea Republic, one of Russia’s ethnic republics located on the coast of the Black Sea. These casks are prized for the deep flavour notes with which they endow the whisky.

Virtually unobtainable, this Committee Release was only made available via the Ardbeg website in March 2017 for Ardbeg Committee members only and sold out in under five minutes. Please do not confuse it with the much more available Ardbeg Kelpie bottled at the lower ABV of 46% which was officially launched on Ardbeg Day, 4 June 2017.

Official Tasting Notes:

Colour: Burnished Gold

Nose: A wonderful, intense, ‘dancing’ nose, with lots of different, intertwined aromas – powerful, oily peat, dark chocolate, smoked fish, hints of seaweed, and a curious, sharp herbal note.  Waves of spicy, black pepper.

A splash of water brings forth some classic Ardbeg notes, such as creamy coffee, smoked fudge and pine resin. Even some hints of smoked coconut.

Palate: A peppery mouthfeel is followed by a crescendo of rich flavours.  Treacle toffee, Turkish coffee, smoky bacon and lots of dark, dark chocolate.  A curious burst of peachy, estery fruit, hickory wood, clove oil and a suggestion of black olives on the aftertaste.

Finish: Seemingly lasting forever, with deep, deep, almost subterranean flavours of clove, tar and rich toffee.

 

This product is located in Australia.

Distillery

Ardbeg Distillery

The renaissance of Ardbeg is one of the most pleasing success stories of the Scotch whisky industry in recent times. Ardbeg had enjoyed a very buoyant existence in the 19th century, despite its relative remoteness, as noted by Alfred Barnard when he visited it in 1885. Ardbeg had been mothballed in 1981 and remained so until 1989 when it reopened but by then under the ownership of Allied Distillers. They closed it in 1996 and sold it the following year to Glenmorangie plc.  Things then started to happen with the opening of a visitors’ centre in 1998, some deft marketing (including the launch of the Ardbeg Committee in 2000) and the introduction of some imaginative NAS expressions under a captivating new label.

Ardbeg, like Glenmorangie, has continued to flourish under French ownership following the acquisition of both by LVMH in 2004.

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