Ardbeg 21 Year Old Whisky Review, plus a bonus!

The 2016 bottling of 21-year old Ardbeg that was quite ground-breaking at the time, followed a bonus review of an independent bottling of Ardbeg from the same era!

As mentioned in my recent review of Airigh Nam Beist, Ardbeg was going through a rough time in the early-mid 1990s. The distillery had only re-opened in 1989 after spending eight years with the doors closed, and then rather than being given the attention it deserved it was relegated to just three months of production per year - which continued right up until its final (and thankfully much shorter) closure in 1996. Under the ownership of Allied Distillers at the time, Ardbeg was operated by a small crew - including recently retired distillery manager Mickey Heads - that would sporadically make the short trip up the road from said company's other Islay distillery, Laphroaig. And while that crew don't seem to have "phoned it in" during those three-month periods, for the remainder of each of those years the distillery was largely neglected in all other areas, and fell in to a serious state of disrepair. This period of low production and relative neglect, coupled with the willingness of the then-owners to sell casks and spirit to independent bottlers and blenders, put pressure on the existing stocks when the distillery was rescued by Glenmorangie in 1997. Which meant that the remaining stock then had to be carefully managed following their purchase, and any special bottlings needed to avoid causing any detriment to the distillery's core releases before they made it across the line. Just over a decade later when the news came that the 1990-distilled Airigh Nam Beist was discontinued and was being replaced by the younger Corryvreckan, many lamented that the days of older, age statement Ardbegs were over. But they were wrong!

Back in mid-2016, the year after the distillery's 200th anniversary, Ardbeg made waves by suddenly releasing an older whisky with an age statement. But it was not a 15-to-18-year old as you might reasonably expect given the distillery's timeline. It was a 21-year old, which meant that the casks were laid down circa 1993-1994, when the distillery was still under Allied ownership and was only producing spirit for three months of the year. That also means that it was produced in the retired pot still pictured above, which now sits in the carpark in front of the distillery's visitor's centre! This 21-year old Ardbeg was fully-matured in 200-litre ex-bourbon barrels - so not larger re-coopered hogsheads, but presumably also not first-fill casks given the age - and was non-chill filtered and naturally coloured, with a relatively small number of 8,268 bottles released. The casks for this release were actually bought back from Chivas Bros., who had purchased them during the Allied era with the intention of using them in blended whiskies - which is another factor which leads me to believe they were refill casks. This is not a new phenomenon, many distilleries have 'bought back' casks from independent bottlers and blenders during the current 'whisky boom' to sell as official bottlings. Nobody would've expected this whisky to be a cheap proposition when it was released, but it did sting when the retail price of $500 AUD hit home. That seems more reasonable here in 2021, but five years ago it was still a bit of a shock - in part because it was bottled at 46% ABV rather than cask strength. But nobody should've expected the distillery to bottle this at it's full cask strength - this was their oldest release in a very long time, so there had to be plenty of bottles to go around. And don't forget that a higher bottling strength would've incurred a higher price! 

This 21-year old Ardbeg ended up heralding the arrival of the later "Twenty Something" series of official bottlings, of which there were two; a 23-year old released in 2017 and bottled at 46.3%, and a 22-year old released in 2018 and bottled at 46.4%. Both of those ended up being priced significantly higher than the 21-year old, both in the range of $750-800 at the time of release, but in fairness there were significantly fewer bottles released in both cases, and in the case of the 23-year old there were a few sherry casks added to the mix which would've added to the cost. I'm yet to try either of those myself, and the chances are getting lower with each passing year, but by all reports they are very good whiskies - albeit also expensive, particularly now on the secondary market. I did however have the chance to try a 15ml of this 21-year old when it was first released at Brisbane whisky bar The Gresham, and remember it fondly - so I'm very much looking forward to finally taking a closer look four years later! Older Ardbegs are very special things, with a stark difference between the whiskies produced in this era and the more modern style that was made under the current ownership. Generally, any peated whisky will lose some of that peatiness over its period of maturation, particularly once the age extends past the early-mid teens - although the extent to which that occurs does depend on the casks that are used, and a myriad of other factors. The sample for this review came from a generous donour, who also provided the sample for the bonus review that is coming later in this post. But first things first!

Ardbeg 21-year old, 46%. Islay, Scotland.

Distilled 1993-1994, matured in 200-litre ex-bourbon casks (presumably not first-fill), bottled 2016. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 8,268 bottles. 

Colour: Pale gold. 

Nose: Tarry and lightly coastal, but also refined. Tar, old cooking grease, fatty smoked bacon and sweet freeze-dried strawberries. Dry, earthy peat, dried lemon slices and dry saltwater-washed old ropes. A touch of oily smoked fish and black pepper. Touches of green melon and apple around the edges too. 

Texture: Medium weight, peaty and coastal but still refined and somehow even clean. No heat. 

Taste: Sweet, juicy tropical fruit on entry, then a lovely wave of earthy, deep peat and tar immediately moves in over the top. The peat does fade quite quickly though. Cracked black pepper, fatty bacon and freeze-dried strawberries again. A touch of vanilla, heading towards creamy but stops in its tracks. Some clean, lemon-y olive oil as well. 

Finish: Long length. Touch of aniseed, drying black pepper and fatty smoked bacon rinds. The tar and old saltwater-washed ropes still there as well. Flashes of tropical fruit in the background. 

Score: 4 out of 5. Not miles from a 4.5 though. 

Notes: Delicious Ardbeg! For something that was presumably matured on the mainland, the tar, old ropes and coastal salt are still very much there. The peat is still there too, it hasn't lost too much of it's initial power, but it has lost it's endurance - the peatiness doesn't hang around long. The pepper and tar do though, and in-all-all it's quite a deep, earthy and coastal example with a more subtle sweetness compared to the modern Ardbegs. The fruit is more in the background too. I would definitely say that they were refill casks, but that's no bad thing by any means - they've done their job perfectly well. This is a starkly different whisky to Airigh Nam Beist, and of course also the younger stuff that was distilled under the new owners. Which does beg the question, they've had control of the distillery for roughly 23-years now, so when are we going to see an older age-stated Ardbeg that was distilled under Glenmorangie / LVMH? Hopefully it won't be too far away. Even the forthcoming 25-year old pre-dates the purchase of the distillery, which is a surprising move. Surely there can't be much of that older stock left!

Had I had the foresight (and the funds) to buy a bottle of this 21-year old at the retail pricing when it was available, I would certainly not have been disappointed. It's a great example of an older Islay whisky that has not lost any of it's character, or any of it's spirit - pun intended!

Now, on to the bonus review! This is an independent bottling of Ardbeg from Gordon & MacPhail, that was distilled in 1996 and bottled in 2005. But unlike many of the "G&M" Connoisseurs Choice Ardbeg bottlings from this era - of which there are many, the vast majority of which were vattings that were bottled at 40-43%, this is a single cask that has been bottled at 46%! So it was distilled roughly one year after the 21-year old official bottling that we've just looked at, but it was bottled at just nine years of age, way back in 2005. 1996 was the year that the distillery was once again closed, until it was purchased & rescued by Glenmorangie around a year later. Since the new owners had a very different approach to the distillery and arguably had more respect for it's output, casks of Ardbeg then became much harder for the independent bottlers and blenders to source. This one, cask number #914, was apparently bottled for French whisky store La Maison Du Whisky, which is one of the most highly-regarded specialist shops in Europe. This is actually the first of these G&M Ardbegs that I have seen bottled at 46%, and it's the only one that I've seen presented in this "dumpy" shaped bottle, but Whiskybase (the source for the below image) tells me there were actually a handful of examples bottled in the same era for various recipients. Regardless, don't plan on walking into your local bottle shop and finding one sitting on the shelf. The bottle that this sample came from was found at auction in Europe by the same generous friend that shared the 21-year old, and this one was quite reasonably priced considering the scarcity. Let's see how it compares to it's much older officially bottled cousin, shall we?

 

Gordon & MacPhail Ardbeg 1996, bottled 2005. 46%. Islay (via Elgin), Scotland.

Single ex-bourbon cask #914, 8-9 years of age, bottled for La Maison Du Whisky. Presumed natural colour & non-chill filtered. 

Colour: Pale white wine. Far paler than it appears in the above photo. 

Nose: Richer & fuller, not as passive as the 21-year old, but still quite refined and gentle. Fruitier too, with lots of fresh apple skins and some under-ripe green melon. Sweet lemon zest and a spicy, soft & gentle peat. No tar or pepper on the nose in this one, a touch of the fatty bacon though. 

Texture: Medium weight. Creamy, sweeter and softer. Much less coastal and lighter too. No heat again.

Taste: Creamy vanilla, a little green peppercorn, green melon again and a floral, almost soapy sweetness around the edges. A touch of tar, but it's subtle, and a nice smoky, gristy malted barley. 

Finish: Short-medium length. Cleaner and more subtle & refined, which from what I've tasted is typical of the G&M whiskies that were bottled in this era. A touch of black pepper here, a little dry hessian sacking / bung cloth, lemon juice, and the apple skins and green melon again. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Cleaner, softer and sweeter, but also more fruity, less peaty and less coastal. Less recognisable as a "typical Ardbeg" too, but that's to be expected in a younger bottling from this era. And the G&M bottlings, while delicious of course (don't get me wrong!) are always more gentle, more refined and subtle, in my experience at least. But it needs to be said that this young bottling was freshly-opened on the day that the sample bottle was filled, and it had been cooped up in the bottle for 14-or so years. So while I gave it over 15-minutes in the glass before touching it, as I always do, it's certainly possible that the bottle will have more to offer given more time after the initial opening. And that's not just me angling for another taster, either!

Cheers!