A lovely little bag of Ardbeg


November 18, 2025

A lovely little bag of Ardbeg

It was time we tasted a few Ardbegs again, whether in their official form, in their independent one, or under the gentle name of Kildalton. We’re going to try doing it randomly, stochastically, in a sort of quasi-Brownian motion that might eventually settle into a more or less logical order, as it often does. But enough silly waffle already, we’ll see what happens…

We would have so loved for it to be full
(At the Distillery, WF Archive, 2006)

Ardbeg 15 yo ‘Anthology The Beithir’s Tale’ (46%, OB, 2025)

Matured in designer charred bourbon cask. I also reckon the general public ought to pay more attention to the silly names many distilleries now feel compelled to slap onto their age statements. Such as this ‘Beithir’s Tale’, a tale of a dragon that supposedly came to Ardbeg and devoured three rare casks. Are we quite sure it wasn’t rather a club of Scandinavian whisky nerds? (love you all). Colour: straw. Nose: ashtray smoke and vanilla-and-banana cream, then a syrupy cough medicine brimming with menthol and eucalyptus. It’s clean, unfussy, very pleasant, all the more so as a little fino-style accent rises up behind that, most charming. Mouth: the mint arrives right away, followed by spruce bud and conifer ash that dries the palate a touch, though not in an unpleasant manner. A few sultanas steeped in orange liqueur follow and lend it all a bit of decorum. Finish: long, saltier now, with also some blackcurrant paste and even other fruits, rather unexpected yet very well handled. Comments: I believe this little dragon might even appeal to peatophobes. I like it a lot, but it absolutely needs to breathe.
SGP:556 - 88 points.

Why not another 15-year-old at 46%, but an older one…

Ardbeg 15 yo 1973 (46%, Moncreiffe, Meregalli Import, +/-1988)

I was quite certain I’d already tasted this well-known Italian baby before, but apparently not. There was also a 14/1973. Colour: gold. Nose: there’s a thousand times more fresh tar, fresh mastic, modelling clay, plus bitter herbs and seaweed, some leather, mutton suet, and charcoal… In short, this is far less ‘commercial’ than the very good Anthology, though I’m not entirely sure that’s the right word. Most importantly, there are virtually no fruits, if any at all. Mouth: very dry, salty, like seawater run through a smoker, then bolstered with paraffin oil, smoked fish and even oyster. The tar emerges next and gains more and more ground. Finish: not all that long, but very waxy and resinous, and naturally saline. That ‘ashtray’ side coming back on the aftertaste. Comments: it brings to mind those old official 10s from the Allied era, but that’s hardly surprising. Very slight OBE, slightly unfavourable, but it’s still very magical stuff, even if it does fade a wee bit too quickly in your glass.
SGP:367 - 90 points.

Ardbeg 15 yo 2009/2025 (54.5%, Brave New Spirits, Cask Masters for Hong Kong Festival, 1st fill Rivesaltes barrique, cask #26001, 308 bottles)

Rivesaltes might seem like an odd choice for maturation, but in truth it’s not far from certain sherries, notably PX, even if the grape varieties aren’t the same and there are several styles of Rivesaltes (tuilé, ambré, grenat, rosé…) Colour: gold. Nose: I believe one never quite knows what to expect when peat meets sweet wine, and here it opens with gherkins and even a dab of horseradish and mustard, then veers off toward seaweed and samphire before landing back on Islay with ashes and tar. It’s genuinely entertaining and even thrilling to follow, if you’re willing to spare it a little of your precious time. With water: rounder, more on dried raisins, which makes sense. Mouth (neat): this time it’s the sweetness of the wine that speaks first, with muscaty overtones and touches of grenache and candied cherry… The distillate, for its part, brings in the smoke, brine and ashes. With water: the tables turn, Ardbeg reasserts itself, with pepper, brine and tar. Good fun. Finish: long and halfway between both components, brought together by pepper. Comments: a little Ardbeg/Rivesaltes that plays like a two-piece puzzle. It’s daft and it’s very good.
SGP:566 - 88 points.

Ardbeg 15 yo 2009/2024 (50.8%, PK Maltroom, ‘Four Seasons’, sherry butt, 82 bottles)

A bottling for Vietnam, more precisely for what is surely a very high-end bar (we’re quite sure of it) in Ho Chi Minh City. The label is adorable – and yes, of course the packaging is part of the whisky. Colour: white wine. Nose: this baby displays as much sherry as a concrete breeze block. That’s a rather silly way, I’ll admit, of saying the sherry itself is entirely absent, and we’re certainly not complaining. In short, it’s an Ardbeg of razor-like precision, extremely fresh, far more mineral and chalkier than the previous ones, and offering just the right touches of oysters, lemon, green apples and seaweed. Magnificent. Water is unnecessary, I’d say. Mouth: let’s just say it, this one reminds us of the ‘Introducing Ten Years Old’, who remembers? Superb tension, precision, freshness and balance of flavour. Finish: a blade. Comments: grand cru whisky, thanks to its purity. Nothing to add. A pity there are (were?) only 82 bottles, but these batches are worth hunting down. You can trust the colour, the paler, the better. There, we’ll talk about this one again in twenty years.
SGP:467 - 92 points.

Ardbeg 16 yo 2008/2024 (58.3%, Casky Hong Kong & The Antelope Macau, Ferry Ticket Return Way, refill sherry cask, cask #80060213, 201 bottles)

These folks are a bit of a nuisance, they almost always release rather dazzling bottlings; I would think they ought to pause their spirits-related activities for a while and take up macramé, batik or pottery. They can always come back later. Colour: rich gold. Nose: yet another style again, taut for sure, but also heavily marked by tar, natural rubber, fresh putty, and even oil paint. In the background, a beach bonfire, dried seaweed and assorted shells. With water: the sherry tries to emerge, with some leafy notes, walnut skins and a dab of mustard, but the distillate calls the shots. And quite right too. Mouth (neat): immediate impact, lemon, bitter orange, pepper, ashes. With water: magnificent, we’re edging towards the spirit of the 72–76 vintages, it’s delightfully tarry and bursting with gherkins. Finish: long, on bitter Italian drinks of very deep red hue. Redder than red, if you see what I mean. Comments: just a tiny bit less precise than the previous one, but I’m splitting hairs now. Magnificent Ardbeg.
SGP:467 - 91 points.

Since it’s just us, I always find myself wondering, as I savour these little independent gems, why the official brands so rarely release whiskies in this kind of very ‘natural’ style, rather than endlessly pursuing those improbable finishes that could bring a tear to even the cheeriest of bricks. If you’ve got the answer, I’m all ears… Right then, let’s carry on…

Ardbeg 25 yo 2000/2025 ‘Something in the Water’ (55.4%, Artist #15 by La Maison du Whisky, oloroso sherry butt, cask #1100000016, 224 bottles)

As the main label is purely functional, I’ll rather show you the artwork that comes with it. One imagines, without having checked, that the name of this series refers to the famous Deep Purple song, written after Frank Zappa set the stage ablaze in Montreux. Well, that’s not quite what happened, but never mind, we’re here for the whisky… Colour: bronze brown. Nose: you can tell straight away that water will be essential to unlock all the aromatic molecules queueing at the gate, like in the Paris metro at rush hour. Figs? Tobacco? Rust remover?... With water: have you ever stuck your head into a barrel of Brent crude, emptied of course? And the oloroso is splendid, in the Navazos style. Mouth (neat): hefty cask impact, but done in that American craft style, all-out excess, which ends up creating an odd sense of coherence and even softness. Not sure that makes sense, but there we are. Rubber, peat, smoked fish, lamp oil, myriads of spices, strange coatings (Rubson?), dark chocolate… With water: no time to linger, is there? Let’s just say brined Italian citrus fruits come crashing in. Finish: very long, with a feeling of having swallowed a bottle of thyme essential oil and several other things besides. Comments: the challenge here is adding just enough water—but not too much—because it might ‘snap’ sharply despite its power. The exact opposite of the sublimely graceful PK Vietnamese one, and yet, both are magical. For as the great and charming philosopher Paula Abdul once said, ‘Opposites Attract’.
SGP:567 - 93 points.

Let’s journey back into the past…

Ardbeg 21 yo 1976/1997 (49.2%, Adelphi, cask #453, 180 bottles)

A little Ardbeg from the days when the very distinguished house of Adelphi had once and for all decided to place absolute faith in the supernaturally sharp eyesight of all whisky enthusiasts. Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s the compactness and expressiveness that strike at once, the smoke, the ashes, the oils, the tars, but also—almost for the first time today—the fruits. Truth be told, there are those typical notes from this vintage that fuse candied citrus with resins, hash included, I mean that quite seriously. Which might explain the typographic choices of the era, but let’s not digress, much water has passed under the bridge since 1997. With water: a touch of leather. Mouth (neat): it’s too good, let’s just stop there. Sublime candied citrus, resins, saline touches, shellfish, liquorice, all in perfect harmony. The peat is but one component, it’s by no means the star. With water: unnecessary. Finish: long, fresh, sublime, resinous and lemony. Comments: the similarity in complexity between this 1976 and the 2000 from LMDW is splendid news (for the 2000), in these days when one tends to believe everything is in decline anyway. Perhaps entropy doesn’t apply to malt whisky. Or at least, not to Ardbeg, after all.
SGP:567 - 93 points.

Well then, to celebrate this discovery, perhaps we could have a few more Kildaltons? Maybe with a little thought for the priest said to be buried beneath the famous cross, reportedly slain in an extremely brutal fashion by barbaric Vikings.

Red Bag 4 yo 2020/2025 (61.2%, Dramfool’s Middle Cut, red wine barrique, cask #54, 282 bottles)

Here we go kicking and screaming, and only because it’s Dramfool, who usually do superb things. But honestly, Ardbeg and red wine? What’s next, mustard in our coffee? Colour: first bit of good news, the whisky isn’t pink like a pigeon’s eye. Nose: I don’t know, smoked blackcurrant with fir wood, and a hint of ham at the same time? With water: not bad at all, obviously smoky, robust of course, and above all with wafts of tomato bush, which only this sort of combination could possibly create. I mean, in the whisky world. Mouth (neat): we’ve stepped into another dimension, that of a wild, extreme drink, burning, salty and acidic. With water: ah, that’s better, it’s original, creative, full of buds and foliage (cherry tree, tomato) and it doesn’t stray too far into grenadine, raspberry or cassis. Finish: rather long, with touches of cardamom. Comments: okay, with a name like ‘Red Bag’, we all knew which whisky this was, but could we perhaps get more details about the red wine that did at least a third of the work? Italian? Spanish? The worst part is, you end up liking this improbable ‘thing’.
SGP:567 - 85 points.

Right, I was about to say they’re mad over at Dramfool, but you’ll no doubt reply that it’s in the name. Fair game.

Kildalton 14 yo 2009/2024 (52.1%, Casky, Hong Kong Neon Light City, hogshead)

Kildalton 14 yo 2009/2024 (52.1%, Casky, Hong Kong Neon Light City, hogshead)
Colour: gold. Nose: a far more austere version, well-mannered, bordering on a Swiss girls’ boarding school (right?) and close to seawater and ashes. With water: a few puffs of limoncello served as granita. Mouth (neat): uncomplicated, simple, not very expressive, and yet I love it, as it stays so close to its markers—ash, olives, lemon, smoked fish, seaweed, oysters, pepper, Tabasco… With water: and brine, more olives, capers, anchovies… Finish: similar, saline, tapenade, anchoyade… Comments: one of the most maritime today, in all its simplicity.
SGP:466 - 89 points.

Kildalton 15 yo 2009/2024 (53.4%, Harmony Macau, Four Towers Series II, refill hogshead, cask #1233, 163 bottles)

We are indeed spending quite a bit of time around the Great Bay today, but we’re certainly not complaining. Colour: white wine. Nose: back to that pared-down style, meticulous, simple in the almost abstract sense, on chalk, lemon, apple and ashes. With water: some oils, grape seed, sunflower, paraffin… Mouth (neat): blast, this is really very good. Full of ashes, fruit and vegetable peelings, lemon zest, oysterleaf and green pepper. It sort of splits you clean in two, but you let it—aren’t all malt lovers just a bit masochistic anyway? With water: in come baked fruits, quince, pear, apple… This part is surprising, it almost clashes a little, but the whole remains spot on. Finish: long, slightly saltier, while staying rather gentle. Lovely briny notes that linger for ages, at least 120 caudalies… I promise. Comments: a magnificent baby, high-level stuff, with just a touch less of that sharp edge we so love, though that’s entirely subjective. In short, it’s excellent.
SGP:456 - 89 points.

Kildalton 22 yo 2003/2025 (53.6%, Whiskyland, Decadent Drinks, 2nd fill barrel, 247 bottles)

There, the Kildalton Cross on the label. The two pagodas don’t leave much room for doubt either, though why on earth they’re floating in the middle of the Irish Sea is anyone’s guess. Or is it what might this place look like by the end of the century, affected by climate change? I’ll add that since the Lider Maximo of DD began his career as a tour guide at Ardbeg, we ought to trust his ability to pick a decent cask from said distillery. Let’s see… Colour: gold. Nose: a return to that clean, precise line, almost minimalist, on frying oil used once for Belgian shrimp croquettes (yep), plus a handful of little shells, cockles, whelks… All of this, really, just completes a platter of lightly smoked oysters, Korean style. It’s all very fine and elegant, moderately powerful, even if that distinctly Ardbeggian bicycle inner tube note shows up next. With water: fishermen’s nets left to dry on the beach and a bit of driftwood. Mouth (neat): much more rustic and punchier, with gunpowder and green pepper. Also some bitter orange, full of promise… With water: still very expressive, acidic, green, bitter, salty, fairly challenging. Finish: same profile, with great length. Comments: it’s the acidic side I find most striking here, but acidity is life, is it not.
SGP:366 - 90 points.

Kildalton 21 yo 2003/2025 (51.3%, The Whisky Jury, second fill bourbon, cask #11124, 276 bottles)

Kildalton 21 yo 2003/2025 (51.3%, The Whisky Jury, second fill bourbon, cask #11124, 276 bottles)
A ‘blended malt’ from a single cask is always amusing, unless the blending took place at birth, or before a marriage-maturation period of three years or more. Sure, sure… Colour: full gold. Nose: very much on smoke and ash, though there’s also a jammy side not often found in a second fill, perhaps a mix of marmalade and mirabelle jam… But it’s lovely. With water: more on tar, soot, and a fine bitterness, grilled aubergine-style. Mouth (neat): same slightly sweet or caramelised impression, but of course the distillate rumbles underneath and fires off loads of pepper and salted ashes. With water: very fine balance of citrus, yellow fruits, oysters, peppers, ashes and tutti quanti. Finish: long, youthful, slightly on salted and peppered lemon marmalade. Comments: the perfect counterpart to the Whiskyland; if we had the time, we’d try blending the two.
SGP:566 - 89 points.

By the way, who remembers the official Ardbeg ‘Kildalton’ from 2014? It was only very lightly peated. Certainly good, but not the most magnificent of Ardbegs, in our humble opinion (WF 83). Right then, let’s finish with a grand finale. Or at least, here’s hoping it turns out to be one…

Ardbeg 15 yo (46%, Cadenhead, dumpy, 75cl, +/-1980)

The main label is entirely similar to that of other ‘black dumpy’ bottles of Ardbeg, but the neck label is a bit of an oddity, as it’s actually from a Springbank 15, most likely one of those used on certain ‘pear shape’ bottles at the time. It’s worth remembering that Springbank/J&A Mitchell had acquired WM Cadenhead in 1972. And they wasted neither glass nor paper, did they. Or perhaps Cadenhead’s neck labels had run out? Or a trainee’s blunder? Or the printer failed to deliver… Colour: straw. Nose: lots of clay and modelling putty at first, then a lovely sweetness sets in, mainly on marzipan, fresh putty and shellfish, with very gentle seaweed and just hints of tar and mild mint. This is an Ardbeg leaning rather towards elegance. Mouth: splendid! As gentle and restrained as the nose was, the palate bursts forth with salinity, grapefruit and sheer coastal peat, you get the impression of swallowing seawater or taking a massive wave full in the face. The rest is extraordinary, with all the usual suspects: gentian, chartreuse, absinthe, limoncello, oysterleaf and a myriad of tiny edible herbs, the whole as precisely tuned as a V12. Finish: long, more medicinal, and feeling more like 50% than 46, with an increasingly oily texture and an aftertaste on the trio of ashes, lemon and seawater. Comments: this is the sort of bottle that helped launch Ardbeg to the forefront for enthusiasts. Also, you’ll no doubt have noticed that we’ve carefully avoided any maltoporn.
SGP:467 - 95 points.

Right then, thirteen Ardbegs is probably enough for today, we’ll save a few for our next session. Above all, we dream of an official release in its natural state, without any improbable boost from hyperactive wood or wine casks, something that could genuinely give the independent bottlers a run for their money. For now, alas! we’re not quite there yet… Even though, of course, there’s the marvellous, very lovable official Ten.

(Muchas gracias, Aaron, Geert, Ratko and friends)

Check the index of all Ardbeg we've tasted