Ardbeg Distillery

 

Ardbeg malts.

This evening, I am posting an update on Ardbeg, one of nine working whisky distilleries on the island of Islay, off the West Coast of Scotland.

In 2021 two new wash stills and two new spirit stills were installed in the new still house. As a consquence of the enlarged capacity up to 2.8 million litres of alcohol can be produced each year. The old distillery is no longer in operation.

(To put this increase in perspective, the capacity at Glenfiddich is about 14.0m litres p.a.)

Ardbeg Distillery

Summary information:

  • Current distillery founded in 1815 by a family of MacDougalls although distilling on the Port Ellen site can be traced back to 1794.
  • The name translates as ‘little height’ or promontory.
  • Subsequent to its founding, the distillery underwent many changes of ownership and intermittent closures until acquired by present owner, Glenmorangie in 1997. Both Glenmorangie and Ardbeg have been owned by luxury brand owner, LVMH since 2004.
  • From 2000 onwards, a range of single malts was introduced with the 10 year-old as flagship.
  • Malts are predominantly heavily peated with the 10 year-old falling in the ‘smoky and light’ category
  • Current capacity is 2.80m litres p.a.
  • Core product range comprises the Ardbeg 10,, Uiegedail (influenced by sherry casks) and Corryvreckan (matured in mix of ex-bourbon American oak and French new oak).
  • Distillery tours are available. There is also an on-site restaurant for visitors.
  • Location is 3.5 miles east of Port Ellen.

Ardbeg Distillery with corporate logo

Whisky Casks at Ardbeg Distillery, Islay.

Ardbeg Single Malts

 For more information on the Scotch whisky industry and visiting Scotland generally please refer Visitors' Guide to Scotland. The ISBN of this book is 978-1-9161332-0-4. Also available via Kindle.

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