Ardbeg

The distillery is located on the southern coast of Islay, near Port Ellen, and has been operating since 1815. After years of intermittent activity and closures, it was taken over by Glenmorangie in 1997, which restarted production.

Its character is that of a heavily peated Islay malt, with smoke, tar and maritime notes; the barley used in the current range is peated to around 55 ppm. The current labels are joined by limited editions and releases reserved for the Ardbeg Committee.

The STELT selection includes Hypernova, the most heavily peated malt ever bottled by the house, made from barley at 170 ppm, and Smoketrails Manzanilla Edition, created for travel retail in a one-litre format, matured in American oak and ex-Manzanilla casks from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, at 46% without chill filtration. Verified provenance.