ardbeg Archives - More Drams, Less Drama

Ardbeg Eureka

10th March 202510th March 2025Coldorak

Recent Ardbeg Day releases have drawn diverse critical opinions. While some reviewers have applauded their distinctive features, others have pointed out flaws. These releases are recognised for their innovative methods, such as altering the distillation process to enhance the spirit’s texture, as demonstrated by the 2023 Ardbeg Heavy Vapours. However, some critics argue that these experiments often produce whiskies that feel underdeveloped or imbalanced, despite their intriguing ideas. Certain releases have earned praise for their unique flavour profiles, yet others have been criticised for being overpriced relative to their quality and likely age. To mark the Committee’s 25th anniversary, Ardbeg introduced a more budget-friendly NAS Committee Release, Ardbeg Eureka, whose reception remains to be seen, so let’s see how it fares.

Glen Garioch 2015 and Secret Islay 2017 Swell de Spirits

21st May 202422nd May 2024Coldorak

A few weeks ago, we received a few samples from the French independent bottler Swell de Spirits, including a few whiskies. Today we try two of them: a Glen Garioch 2015 and a Secret Islay from a south shore distillery known for its eccentric marketing team and its yearly non-age-statement releases…

Ardbeg Ar5 Elements of Islay and 33.140 SMWS

Ardbeg Ar5 & 33.140 SMWS

31st January 202431st January 2024Coldorak

Independent bottlings from Ardbeg are a rarity, especially those unmistakeably bearing the distillery’s name. According to Whiskybase, a mere nine independent bottlings of Ardbeg graced the market in 2023. The bulk of Ardbeg’s output tends to stay in-house, contributing to their core range, a handful of notably expensive single casks, and sought-after limited editions like the Ardbeg Day releases (which we’ll be delving into shortly). As a fan of Ardbeg and with fond memories of my first visit to their Islay distillery, I’m delighted to compare two independent bottlings side by side in this review. So, without further delay, let’s explore the Ardbeg Ar5 from Speciality Drinks, released in 2014, and the Ardbeg 2007 33.140 bottled by the SMWS at the end of 2023.

Ardbeg 2001 Character of Islay

10th December 20227th June 2023Coldorak

Yes, the full name is The Character of Islay Whisky Company, but if I write the complete independent bottler name in my title, Google is not going to be happy about the title length. Anyway. We’ve recently reviewed the four Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19-year-old batches on More Drams, but we have not reviewed any independent bottling of an Ardbeg before. Maybe because those are quite rare…

Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19-year-old

14th October 202214th October 2022Coldorak

Ardbeg introduced in September 2019 a new expression to its core range, featuring an age statement: Traigh Bhan. Aged 19, Traigh Bhan (pronounced try van), is a yearly batch expression, where Ardbeg does not seek regularity. Each year, they clearly show the batch number on the label, with a code showing when it was distilled, as well as short tasting notes giving the profile of this batch. Whilst Ardbeg’s marketing is running full steam with its Ardbeg Day (both Committee and Regular releases) expressions, with each expression’s backstory more over the top than the previous one, the marketing for the 19yo is here quite soft, and I must admit I like that they don’t invent crazy stories to justify the difference of each Ardbeg Day release, be it a fermentation length or a cask char or what the cask held before or whatever. Here, it’s just new Traigh Bhan batch, slightly different profile, and that’s it. Since the release of this expression, we’ve had now four batches, so let’s compare all four of those Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19-year-old whiskies.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie vs Ten

19th July 202019th July 2020Coldorak

Earlier this year, the famous Islay distillery Ardbeg announced a new addition to its core range with the Ardbeg Wee Beastie. Unfortunately, the pandemic happened around the launch. That and a surprising launch calendar. Some European countries (Germany and Netherlands) got it first back in March, while it only arrived a week ago in the UK. And for my great sadness, it is still unavailable in France except for a few eligible cocktail bars. Not even my usual whisky bar is eligible (they’ve confirmed me that earlier this week). Why this surprising way (to stay polite) of getting a new release out to the hordes of peated whisky fans? Beats me. But since it’s the first official Ardbeg releases we’re reviewing here (we’ve reviewed a couple SMWS), as usual, let’s introduce the distillery first. After that, we’ll do an Ardbeg Wee Beastie vs Ten review.