About Ardbeg
Heavily plated malt from Port Ellen, combined with long fermentation times, and use of a purifier pipe combine to produce a whisky that is at once citrus sweet and clean, oily in texture, and bursting with tarry smoke flavour. Located on Islay’s southern coast, the distillery was founded in 1815; it was intermittently mothballed from 1981 to 1989, then again in 1996, before being rescued by Glenmorangie and going on to gain cult status.
In 2011, Ardbeg made history by being the first whisky to go to space. 20 vials of Ardbeg and wood particles were sent to the International Space Station to see how this would impact the maturation process. The vials returned to earth in 2014.
Ardbeg won World Whisky of the Year two years in a row in 2008 and 2009.
Ardbeg is a form of the Scottish Gaelic "An Àird Bheag" which means "The Small Promontory."