Ardbeg 12-year-old (Bottled 1970s) Wm Cadenhead / 46% / 0.75l
- Although Ardbeg Distillery does not need any introductions, the expression presented here might. We have been lucky to dig out some unusual and rare bottles occasionally, and the one shown here is certainly one of them.
Product description
While Ardbeg Distillery doesn't require a detailed introduction, the edition presented here rather does.
Every now and then we come across unusual bottles of whisky, information about which has long been lost to time. The Ardbeg presented here was distilled in the 1960s, when the distillery was owned by the Lawson family and the DCL and Hiram Walker & Sons concerns; these companies acquired minority stakes in 1959. The 1960s brought a significant revival in the whisky market, of course blended whisky, blended with the participation of malts with a smoky and peaty profile. Ardbeg was experiencing a period of prosperity and the production of its own malthouse turned out to be insufficient - in 1974 the plant began using malt from Port Ellen. For the most "hard-core" fans of the brand, this date marks the end of an era in Ardbeg's history. The Ardbeg presented here from another era was bottled by Wm Cadenhead Ltd. at 46% abv in the 1970s.
Nose: sea breeze, iodine, new rubber boots, motor oil, pine resin, walnuts, fresh herbs, blood oranges, cedar cigar box, furniture polish and peat smoke in the background.
Palate: peat smoke and ash, bitter orange jam, rose water, raisins, prunes, licorice, salted almonds, herbal spice, traces of tar and oak.
Finish : very long, smoke and ash, tar, citrus, herbal mix, sea salt and oak.