1970s ARDBEG:
THE GOLDEN ERA

Widely considered one of Islay’s cult distilleries, Ardbeg is the perfect example of the island’s archetypal heavily peated character. Ardbeg today produces some of the highest quality peated single malts out there, offering a whirlwind of peat, complex malt and citrus sweetness. But for dedicated Ardbeg enthusiasts and collectors, the 1970s was the distillery’s golden era, with single cask bottlings from this decade receiving legendary status.

In the mid-1970s, demand for peated blends saw Ardbeg stop its floor maltings (malting its own grain) and turn to peated malt from the nearby village of Port Ellen, resulting in a change of style from old-school Ardbeg. The distillery was then hit by the effects of over-production and declining demand – known as the “whisky loch” – resulting in its closure from 1981 to 1989. Scraping along providing parts to its then-sister distillery Laphroaig, Ardbeg’s full production and revival only commenced when Glenmorangie purchased the distillery in 1997.

Thanks to independent bottlers like Douglas Laing and Gordon & MacPhail, as well as rare official single cask bottlings from the distillery, we’re able to find a limited number of Ardbeg single malts distilled in this celebrated era. Discover our favourite releases below for a chance to try old-fashioned Ardbeg, long before its 21st-century reinvention.

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