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Ardbeg Distillery,

Port Ellen,
Islay,
Argyll
PA42 7EA.
Tel: +44 (0) 1496 302244

Please Confirm with the distillery before travelling.

Visitor opening times are:

September-May,
open Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm.

June-August,
open 7 days a week, 10am-5pm.

Pre-booking for tours is advisable. Please note that the Distillery closes during the Christmas holiday period.

Ardbeg Scotch Whisky Distillery Information

Officially founded in 1815.
Location Islay South shore region.
Water Source Loch Uigeadail

Ardbeg Scotch Whisky Distillery Equipment
Stainless steel semi-lauter Mash Tun,
6 Oregon Pine Washbacks
2 large pot stills. The spirit still is fitted with a purifier.

Matured in American oak ex bourbon casks with some ex sherry butts reserved for special bottlings.

Ardbeg Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Distillery History

One of the original Kildalton distilleries, situated on the southern shore of the island.

The present distillery was built on the site of an illicit distillery, of which there were many in the area, in 1815. Ardbeg, unlike its neighbours Laphroaig and Lagavulin, has not enjoyed the same uninterrupted period of production since its opening.

In fact between 1981 and 1989 it was famously closed, whilst the then owners Allied distillers decided what to do with the distillery. It was re-opened in 1990 but only operated up to 6 weeks of the year from 1991 until 1996 when the distillery closed again...for good.

In 1997 the Glenmorangie company bought the distillery and all its stock, re-starting distillation in earnest in 1998, bringing much needed stability and expertise in maturation particularly. In effect they had resurrected a slumbering beast.

One of, if not the most, heavily peated malts from anywhere in Scotland, Ardbeg's pure spring water comes from Loch Uigeadail (the dark, mysterious place in Gaelic) via another loch called Airigh Nam Beist (shelter of the beast).

Ardbeg's 'house style' when young is all about warming peat smoke, smoked fish, seaweed with a balancing citrus sweetness, whilst the older bottlings take on more rich spices such as cinnamon and aniseed which integrate very well with the peat. For a 'younger' experience try Ardbeg 'Almost There' and for an older, more mature expression try Airigh Nam Beist 1990 or Lord of The Isles.
One of the most sought after malts by both collectors and drinkers, Ardbeg is commonly awarded the highest critical acclaim.'

Ardbeg Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery Bottlings

Ardbeg 10 Year Old (Glenmorangie ownership)
Ardbeg Alligator
Ardbeg Blasda
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Ardbeg Supernova (The third Best Whisky in the World Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2010)
Ardbeg Uigeadail

Ardbeg Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Older Distillery Bottlings
Ardbeg Very Young
Ardbeg Still Young
Ardbeg Almost There
Ardbeg Mor
Ardbeg 1990 Airgh Nam Beist
Ardbeg Provenance
Ardbeg Renaissance
Ardbeg Rollercoaster
Ardbeg 10 Year Old (Previous owners distilation)
Ardbeg 17 Year Old
Ardbeg 21 Year Old
Ardbeg Guaranteed 30 Year Old
Ardbeg Committee Reserve
Ardbeg Kildalton 1980
Ardbeg Lord of the Isles
Ardbeg Vintage 1965, 1975,1977, 1978
Ardbeg Provenance (1974 Vintage)
Ardbeg Single cask vintages 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976,1977, 1978, 1992, 1995, 1998,
Ardbeg Single cask 2000 Lord Robertson of Port Ellen
Ardbeg Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Independent Bottlings

Adelphi,
Blackadder,
Cadenhead's,
Connoisseurs Choice (Gordon & MacPhail),
Creative Whisky Co
Duncan Taylor Collection
Hart Brothers
Mackillop's Choice
Murray McDavid,
Platinum Old & Rare (Douglas Laing)
Provenance (Douglas Laing)
Old Malt Cask (Douglas Laing)
Old & Rare
Scott's Selection
SMWS
Whisky Fair (Germany)