Tag Archives: #Ardbeg

Ardbeg Y2K 23 Year Old

Also known as the “Millenium Spirit”

“A glitch in the Ardware”, reads the inside of the box. Ardbeg Vintage_Y2K is a series of limited releases of whiskies distilled in the year 2000. Each one will represent a different side of the distillery, with no two whiskies alike. Ardbeg Vintage_Y2K 23 is a single malt Islay Scotch whisky matured in oloroso and bourbon casks for 23 years.

Bottled at 46% ABV.

Notes from Ardbeg:

Nose:

Herbal, sweet and fragrant with subtle perfumed smokiness. Zesty lemon balsam, linseed oil and walnuts a touch of water and the flavour intensifies emitting Heather honey a touch of creosote(bitter and oily like turpentine) and a tiny trace of tent canvas.

Palate:

The texture is fizzy with a real effervescence on the tongue. At first the flavour is intensely sweet then shifts as aniseed(licorice), toffee, digestive biscuits, peppermint, menthol, tar and coffee grits 

Finish:

The sooty/Tarry flavours keep building until they finally dissolve into a long lingering aftertaste of antiseptic lozenges, bitter oranges and oak tannins.

This was such a preculiar whisky, anything that states a touch of tent canvas in the nosing notes might scare someone off on this expression. However it was a fantastic overall 23 Year Old whisky with an amazing backtory from Arbeg as they laid down spirit back prior to the hoopla about the the Y2K bug back prior to the calendar turning tto 2000. This expression was released a few years back but we were able to secure one from one of our members private collections. Thank you for the suggestion and would highly recommend you try this one out should the opportunity present itself.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie

For only 5 Years old, this was a very pleasing taster, and went over well with most of the Club. A great add-on to our annual Halloween Party. It is sold at the LCBO for $78.45, but it was difficult to get your hands on when it was first released in 2020 (and still can be). It is a permanent expression for Ardbeg, so watch for it. Young, smoky and herbal, a feisty one for sure! 47.4% ABV.