Ardbeg An Oa

Ardbeg An Oa - 70cl, 46.6% abv

Although it is now one of the most famous whiskies in the world, Ardbeg is a distillery that almost never was; twice! Unofficially producing whisky in 1798 and legally doing so by 1815, the distillery has a rocky history of closures. It was however the takeover by LVMH in the late 90’s that sealed the success for the whisky, and it has been sought after worldwide ever since. Although in most of its early years the distillery used most of its malt for blending, the output now is almost exclusively malt whisky. Focusing unashamedly on its incredibly peaty style, Ardbeg has fully embraced the bitter smokiness of its spirit, and is well loved for it. With many award winning bottlings, and in recent years more experimental and unique fermentation techniques being employed, Ardbeg are setting the example for creativity within the industry. Their fairly small production size also helps keep demand high.

Designed as one of the most approachable releases from the distillery, the An Oa is slightly lower in ABV and on the softer side (for an Ardbeg!).
This bottling using a wide variety of casks to create an entirely sweet and more mellow dram. Pedro Ximenez sherry casks provide sweet richness, ex bourbon casks add a light fruitiness and virgin charred oak casks add spice to make this dram versatile