Ardbeg - <em>23 Year Y2K Edition</em>

Ardbeg

23 Year Y2K Edition

46% ABV • Whisky • 700ml • Sold Out

Single Malt Whisky from Islay in Scotland

$1086.87 + tax and deposit

$1,032.53 for Whisky Folk Members

Bottle Info
Distillery Info
Video
Review

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Out of stock

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PRODUCER
Ardbeg

BOTTLER
Official Distillery Release by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy

AGE
23 Years Aged, Distilled 2000

CASK TYPE
Ex Oloroso

RELEASE
Standard Limited Edition Release

CHILL-FILTRATION
No

ADDED COLOUR
No

PEAT SMOKED
Yes

From The Official Website

While the year 2000 will be remembered by many for bootcut jeans, flip phones and the elusive millennium bug, it went down in Ardbeg history for very different reasons.

Following decades of neglect, the Distillery had been saved from extinction by The Glenmorangie Company in 1997 and meticulously restored. As the clock ticked over from 1999 to 2000, Ardbeg was returning to full production. And while the rest of the world partied, with many distilleries shut down in fear of computerised chaos, its dedicated stillmen stayed up all night to keep the spirit flowing.

Crafted with some of the very first spirit of the millennium, the inaugural edition in the Ardbeg Vintage Y2K series is unlike anything that came before. It was distilled in the historic still which served Ardbeg for 51 years, before being retired in 2001. And with an increased rigour applied to cask selection under the new ownership, the whisky was laid down in some of the finest bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks around.

Committee Chair and Distillery Visitor Centre Manager Jackie Thomson said: ‘The turn of the millennium was a milestone for Ardbeg in so many ways â not least the formation of our Committee, the lifeblood of Ardbeg. With Y2K fashion and culture now back with a vengeance, we’re inviting Ardbeggians to turn back time to a remarkable year and enjoy the spirit of Ardbeg Vintage_Y2K.

AROMA: Herbal, sweet and fragrant, with a subtle, distant perfumed smokiness. Next a quirky, zesty note like lemon balsam emerges, along with a suggestion of linseed oil and candied walnuts. A splash of water and the fragrance intensifies, emitting heather honey, a touch of creosote and the tiniest trace of tent canvas.
TASTE: The texture is fizzy and effervescing (sherbety), with a real, vibrant effervescence on the tongue. At first the flavour is intensely sweet, then shifts as aniseed, toffee, digestive biscuits, peppermint, menthol, tar and coffee grits burst through.
FINISH: The sooty/tarry flavours keep building, until they finally dissolve into a long, lingering aftertaste of antiseptic lozenges, bitter oranges and oak tannins.

From The Official Website

While the year 2000 will be remembered by many for bootcut jeans, flip phones and the elusive millennium bug, it went down in Ardbeg history for very different reasons.

Following decades of neglect, the Distillery had been saved from extinction by The Glenmorangie Company in 1997 and meticulously restored. As the clock ticked over from 1999 to 2000, Ardbeg was returning to full production. And while the rest of the world partied, with many distilleries shut down in fear of computerised chaos, its dedicated stillmen stayed up all night to keep the spirit flowing.

Crafted with some of the very first spirit of the millennium, the inaugural edition in the Ardbeg Vintage Y2K series is unlike anything that came before. It was distilled in the historic still which served Ardbeg for 51 years, before being retired in 2001. And with an increased rigour applied to cask selection under the new ownership, the whisky was laid down in some of the finest bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks around.

Committee Chair and Distillery Visitor Centre Manager Jackie Thomson said: ‘The turn of the millennium was a milestone for Ardbeg in so many ways â not least the formation of our Committee, the lifeblood of Ardbeg. With Y2K fashion and culture now back with a vengeance, we’re inviting Ardbeggians to turn back time to a remarkable year and enjoy the spirit of Ardbeg Vintage_Y2K.

AROMA: Herbal, sweet and fragrant, with a subtle, distant perfumed smokiness. Next a quirky, zesty note like lemon balsam emerges, along with a suggestion of linseed oil and candied walnuts. A splash of water and the fragrance intensifies, emitting heather honey, a touch of creosote and the tiniest trace of tent canvas.
TASTE: The texture is fizzy and effervescing (sherbety), with a real, vibrant effervescence on the tongue. At first the flavour is intensely sweet, then shifts as aniseed, toffee, digestive biscuits, peppermint, menthol, tar and coffee grits burst through.
FINISH: The sooty/tarry flavours keep building, until they finally dissolve into a long, lingering aftertaste of antiseptic lozenges, bitter oranges and oak tannins.

Discover Ardbeg

Ardbeg

Perched perilously close to the sea spray and pebbled shores of Islay’s southern coast, Ardbeg is something of a cult in the world of peated malt. Its fans, often fiercely loyal and inexplicably fond of green branding, revere it not merely for its formidable smoke, but for the sense of wild irreverence it brings to tradition.

Founded in 1815, Ardbeg’s journey has been anything but smooth sailing. It has weathered closures, ownership changes, and one particularly barren spell in the 1980s that nearly saw its kiln flames extinguished for good. Thankfully, Glenmorangie swooped in during the late 1990s with a rescue plan and a marketing flair, and the distillery has since become a global symbol of Islay’s smoky charms.

Its production is delightfully hands-on - old-style wooden washbacks, a relatively short fermentation, and stills with a quirky purifier on the spirit still that tempers the wilder elements. The resulting whisky is gloriously medicinal, with briny lashings of seaweed and peat smoke, yet balanced by an unexpected fruitiness that peeks through the fog.

Despite a relatively modest capacity, Ardbeg punches above its weight in both presence and potency. While its neighbours wear their history with solemnity, Ardbeg seems to dance in a lab coat and goggles, madly experimenting and somehow always landing on its feet.

More From Ardbeg

Whisky Folk Review

As sampled by our members

The below is the average score out of 5 from our members, and the flavour profile which was voted to be the most prominent.

★

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