Ardbeg – Three Monsters of Smoke

Ardbeg – Three Monsters of Smoke

Three Monsters of Smoke from Ardbeg is a monster pack of 3×20 cl. The set includes Ardbeg Ten Year Old, Ardbeg Five Year Old Wee Beastie and Ardbeg An Oa. Each of these bottles has a hidden artwork hiding behind the label. Peel it off to see what gruesome spectacle awaits.

• Ardbeg TEN
  Taste: An explosion of crackling peat sets off millions of flavor explosions; Peat shower with tangy lemon and lime, black pepper pops with sizzling cinnamon spiced caramels. Then comes a wave of brine with added buttermilk, ripe bananas and currants.
• Ardbeg An Oa
  Palate: A smooth, creamy texture leads to a tremendous syrupy sweetness, flavors of milk chocolate, treacle toffee, anise, orange and smoky tea leaves. Gentle, sweet spices, a little cigar smoke and a very unusual taste of grilled artichokes.
• Ardbeg Wee Beastie
  Palate: A rich, explosive mouthfeel with lots of chocolate, tar, creosote and smoked bacon, followed by a burst of antiseptic lozenges, eucalyptus and more anise.

The distillery:

There have been many ups and downs on the long road to Ardbeg as it is today over the years. Ardbeg's story is one of indomitable spirit surviving against all odds.
Ardbeg has won the award as World Whiskey Of The Year four times in recent years and is one of the best examples of what whiskey from the Scottish island of Islay can do.

The distillery was founded way back in 1815 by founder John Macdougall, he takes a license and establishes Ardbeg Distillery as a legitimate commercial distillery. As early as 1887, the distillery produced 1.1 million liters per year. This makes it the most productive distillery on Islay. It went backwards for the distillery and in 1981 it had to close and 18 jobs were lost, which was not good for the island of Islay. In 1987, Ardbeg is sold and resumes distilling which did not go well and closed for the second time in 1991. Only in 1997 does it reopen again after the Glenmorangie company buys it. The first bottlings consisted of 17 year old and 1978 vintage Ardbeg
Investments in both equipment and people began to pay off and in 1999 production was again at 600,000 liters per year.

It went terrifically, and in 2008 Ardbeg won the title of 'World Whiskey Of The Year' for the distillery's 'Ardbeg Ten Years Old' - an event that was repeated the following year, when Ardbeg won for their 'Uigedal'. The year after that for 'Supernova'.

The balance between peaty power and floral sweetness makes the whiskey the core expression of Ardbeg.