Islay

Ardbeg Blaaack

2020 marked the 20th Anniversary of the Ardbeg Committee, a fan club of Ardbeg enthusiasts and a way for the distillery to stay in touch with fans of the brand. Every year in the spring, the distillery will release a special Committee Release. While available to non-Committee buyers, members hear about the upcoming whisky first and sometimes have a chance to buy it before retail. The 2020 Committee Release is the Ardbeg Blaaack. The name references a black sheep, depicted on the cover amidst a sea of white sheep. The sheep are there because the whisky was matured in ex-pinot noir casks from New Zealand, another island nation known for having an extremely high number of sheep.

By Adam | March 20, 2022 | Islay | No Comments |

Mistakes happen. In many professions, you have to sweep whatever the results were under the proverbial rug and start over. At Kilchoman distillery, unnamed employee mistakenly combined a three year old run of their flagship Machir Bay with a fresh ex-port matured expression in 2014. Instead of washing it down the drain or drinking it immediately, they stuck it in an ex-bourbon barrel to see if time would provide any hope before finishing the strange marriage off in an ex-ruby port cask. The beginning and the maturation process were, as the general manager called it, “am bùrach”, or “a mess”. The Kilchoman Am Bùrach is a unique mistake in many ways, not lease of which is that it survived and thrived long enough to be bottled. The ultimate hope of any young spirit.

By Adam | February 10, 2022 | Islay | No Comments |

Caol Ila is the largest distillery on the island of Islay, producing over 2 million liters every year. The vast majority of that goes into Diageo-owned blends like Johnnie Walker Black Label, but there still remains some for eventual release as single malts. While the 12 Year is their single malt cornerstone, the distillery has been releasing a yearly series of unpeated whiskies over the past several years, including the 17 Year. The Caol Ila 15 Year is the first of a reported thirteen releases in the series.

By Adam | May 5, 2021 | Islay | No Comments |