Ardbeg brings back 17 Year Old Islay

4 Sep

Iconic whisky is born again in tribute to Distillery’s most loyal devotees.

Ardbeg Distillery is reviving the fabled Ardbeg 17 Years Old in a limited edition shared exclusively with the Ardbeg Committee. Revered for its delicate smoky notes, the original 17 Year Old bottling from the Islay distillery was a true icon of its time. This revival limited edition pays tribute to those who have made Ardbeg 17 the legend that it is – from the whisky’s creators, to the fans who tirelessly lobbied for its return.

Released a quarter century ago in 1997, Ardbeg 17 Years Old was one of the first whiskies to leave the Distillery when it re-opened after being saved from extinction by The Glenmorangie Company. Unusually elegant, yet unmistakably Ardbeg, the bottling soon became a firm favourite among the Distillery’s most dedicated fans during the early days of its resurgence. Stalwarts of the Ardbeg Committee mourned the whisky’s loss when it was retired in 2004, and they have been calling for the single malt’s revival ever since.

From the inner sanctum of their sensory laboratory, the Distillery’s Whisky Creation Team heard the lament for Ardbeg 17 Years Old loud and clear. And while they usually look to the future and to their next trailblazing smoky creation, they challenged themselves to retrace their steps and bring the flavour profile of that old favourite back to life, one delicately smoky note at a time.

But doing so was no mean feat – even breaking one of the Distillery’s own golden rules; today, Ardbeg usually has an ABV of 46% or higher and is always non chill-filtered. But on their mission to replicate Ardbeg 17 Year Old’s classic character, the whisky creation team combined peated and unpeated stock, and tweaked their typical production process to be able to bottle Ardbeg 17 Years Old at 40% ABV, and chill-filter the whisky - just as it used to be.

The result is a delicate take on the Distillery’s trademark smoke as it’s typically known today. Distinctly balmy and medicinal, its enticing minerality bursts into sweet smoke and malted barley. Muted, yet undeniable wisps of peat still make their presence felt, with hints of tar and oak.

Master Blender Gillian Macdonald said:

“When we meet die-hard Ardbeg Committee members, the conversation often turns to Ardbeg 17 Years Old. After pondering for some time how we could bring this favourite back to life, we landed on a delicious recipe that honours the character of the original 17 Years Old both in aroma, flavour and texture. Ardbeg fans can expect to find classic aromas of pine resin and sea spray, as well as a mineral note layered with malted barley – all underpinned by delicate smoke. In tribute to the Ardbeg folk past and present who made this whisky an icon, we’re very excited to bring an Islay legend back to life, allowing a new generation of whisky lovers to experience an iconic Ardbeg that they’ve heard so much about.”

Available exclusively to members of the Ardbeg Committee, Ardbeg 17 Years Old will be available online at Ardbeg.com, at the Distillery Visitor Centre on Islay, and in Ardbeg Embassies from 24th September 2024, RRP: £160.

For more news on all things Ardbeg, smoky malt whisky fans can join the Ardbeg Committee at Ardbeg.com/committee. Membership is free and all Ardbeg fans are welcome.

Ardbeg 17 Years Old Tasting Notes:

ABV: 40%
Chill-filtered
Colour: Bronze
Aroma: Fresh, clean and salving, with hints of pine resin, aniseed, sea spray and lavender soap, the nose is very gentle, very restrained, and rather elegant for an Ardbeg. With water, there is a distinctive, flinty minerality, along with subtle hints of sweet peat smoke, malted barley, and a touch of toasting bread.
Taste: A beautiful, creamy texture is followed by a lovely combination of flavours, with aniseed toffee, café latte, fennel and gentle antiseptic soap. The peat smoke is present, but in a very restrained manner.
Finish: Lingering, with chewy oak, cocoa powder and tar.

About Ardbeg

Ardbeg prides itself on being The Ultimate Islay Malt Whisky. Established in 1815, Ardbeg is revered by connoisseurs around the world as the peatiest, smokiest and most complex of all the Islay malts. Despite its smokiness, Ardbeg is renowned for its delicious sweetness, a phenomenon that has affectionately become known as ‘the peaty paradox’. During the 1980s and 1990s, Ardbeg suffered from an uncertain future, and it was not until the brand was purchased by The Glenmorangie Company in 1997 that the Distillery was saved from extinction. Since then, the Distillery has risen like a phoenix and today Ardbeg is well-established as a niche, cult malt, with a passionate following. Today, Ardbeg is one of the world’s most highly awarded smoky single malt whiskies.

About the original Ardbeg 17 Years Old

When Glenmorangie reopened Ardbeg in 1997 after years of turbulence and two closure periods, some of the youngest stock available was from early 1980s. This led to the release of Ardbeg 17 Years Old. The whisky became the flagship for the brand, while the team began optimising the Distillery’s stock profile for the future. The whisky’s flavour profile was unusually delicate for an Ardbeg, as it included a proportion of unpeated stock. It was chill-filtered and bottled at 40% to complement its elegance. Ardbeg 17 Years Old was bottled from 1997-2004 before being retired. Originally priced at £29.99, it has remained a much-sought-after single malt. Bottles now fetch in excess of £650 on the secondary market