ARDBEG Distillery hasn’t allowed lockdown to put the brakes on its whisky calendar as it unveils a limited edition single malt ahead of its Ardbeg Day online celebrations.
Available to order from Saturday (May 30) on the Ardbeg website, Ardbeg Blaaack has been aged in pinot noir casks and is bottled at 46% ABV. The limited edition expression, which has notes of oak tannins, rich truffles and smokey jam tart, is said to “knit together flavours of velvety summer fruit pudding and bitter cherry, with a deeper edge of soot and Ardbeg’s hallmark smoke.”
Ardbeg Day – the distillery’s annual celebration which is normally held on the final Saturday of Islay’s Festival of Music and Malt (Fèis Ìle) – is also taking its festivities online this weekend. Kicking off on Saturday (May 30) at 7pm on Ardbeg’s Facebook page, the Ardbeg Blaaack Whisky Trials event will toast to the Ardbeg Committee’s 20th anniversary with a two-hour online event which will include tastings, games and entertainment.
Mickey Heads, Ardbeg distillery manager, said: “We were looking forward to marking Ardbeg Day this year with our dyed-in-the-wool fans here at the distillery and at celebrations around the world. Sadly, global events overtook us.
“However, we’ve put our heads together and come up with a back-up plan to keep our committee members entertained, safe at home. I’ll be shepherding the Ardbeg team in an online extravaganza instead – expect tastings of some much-loved whiskies, fun, blether, and maybe even a few Blaaack-inspired surprises.”
