Held annually on the final Saturday of Islay’s Festival of Music and Malt (Fèis Ìle), Ardbeg Day is a global celebration of all things Ardbeg, which this year will take place entirely online this year, on Saturday 5th June. For this year’s Ardbeg Day, whisky lovers and fantasy fans will be able to take part on the Ardbeg website and social media platforms (@ardbeg), able to navigate their way around an interactive map of Fantasy Islay. DJ BBQ will host a live cook-a-long, while master mixologist Cameron George conduct a mixology session. A live tasting of the distillery’s new limited-edition whisky, Ardbeg Scorch, will also take place.
On Ardbeg Day 2021 and the launch of Ardbeg Scorch, Colin Gordon, Ardbeg’s Distillery Manager, said: “This year will be my first Ardbeg Day ever: a baptism of fire! It’s a shame we Ardbeggians can’t enjoy it together in person, but the online event is shaping up to be tremendous fun. With a whole virtual world to explore, including fantasy inns, campfire tales, medieval feasts and live tastings, there’s plenty for people to be excited about this year.”
Ardbeg’s Director of Distilling and Whisky Creation, Dr Bill Lumsden, added: “Ardbeg Scorch is our tribute to the legendary dragon of Islay. By using our most heavily charred casks, we’ve created a fire-breathing beast of a dram!”
Islay residents have long told tales of the island’s dragon, bravely slain by a heroic warrior. In tribute to this ‘true myth’, Ardbeg Scorch is matured for an unspecified period of time in heavily charred ex-bourbon American oak casks.
Established in 1815, Ardbeg is generally considered the peatiest, smokiest, and most complex of all the Islay malts. Despite its smokiness, Ardbeg is also renowned for its sweetness, which has become known as ‘the peaty paradox’. That smokiness is omnipotent with Ardbeg Scorch, also joined by aromas of cereal, pine, aniseed, sage, and a whisper of orchard fruit. On the palate, Ardbeg Scorch has an oily mouthfeel with some woody vanilla sweetness prevailing alongside further smokiness, plus liquorice and a slight menthol note which lingers on the long, smoky finish.
Ardbeg Scorch is available from Ardbeg Embassies, whisky specialists, online retailers, and from the Distillery Visitor Centre. Further information on Ardbeg can be found here.
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