Ardbeg Day 2025: Islay’s Ultimate Whisky Celebration

Ardbeg Day 2025: A Whisky Celebration on the Isle of Islay

For fans of Islay whisky, this is of course a special day. This year it falls on 31st May and the whole of Islay will be celebrating this day in a big way, especially since Ardbeg Day always falls at the end of the feis ile, the biggest event on Islay!

A celebration of music and dance combined with a big accompaniment of whisky in the background.

The distillery closed and reopened several times, and it was not until Glenmorangie plc bought the distillery in 1997 that the conditions were created for its renewed development. In 1998, it won the title of distillery of the year, in 2004 – it caught up with the production record set in 1887, and in 2008 and 2009 Ardbeg 10 YO whisky was awarded the title of world whisky of the year. Since the beginning of the 21st century, Ardbeg's management has attached great importance to promoting the brand. This is achieved through global campaigns (e.g. Ardbeg Day, or The Tractour) using the cultural specificity of Islay (Viking traditions and peat extraction) and a policy related to the release of small, one-off editions of whisky. Currently, the plant has a stainless steel mash tun, 6 fermentation vats made of Oregon pine and 2 stills.

Last edition of ardbeg day bottle:

2025 - Ardbeg Smokiverse

2024 - Ardbeg Spectacular

• Nose: rich floral notes, slightly herbal, notes of heather, peat, quite peaty, slightly sherry, roasted drawo, a bit of gum and creaminess.
• Taste: here you can feel the activity of port barrels a bit stronger, dried fruit, raisins, mint, nutmeg, burnt wood, grilled meat, a lot of peat
• Finish: unfortunately not very long, but classically peaty, herbal, white pepper, caramel, salted caramel, tea.

2023 - Ardbeg Havy vapours

2022 - Ardbeg Ardcore

• Nose: spicy, slightly herbal atmosphere, burnt toast, peat
• Taste: sweet peat flavors with notes of coal, anise, smoked meat and campfire smoke with a slight sweetness of caramel
• Finish: quite long and slightly warming with a distinct smoke and notes of sweetness

2021 - Ardbeg Scorch

• Nose: sweetness mixed with thick smoke straight from the grill, barbeque sauce, honey, caramel, charcoal, burnt wood.
• Palate: lots of smoke, peat, chocolate, roasted coffee, iodine, a pinch of salt and sea breeze, tobacco, citrus, pepper.
• Finish: long and pleasant, milk chocolate, caramel, vanilla, some citrus, strong smoky hit, tobacco.

2020 - Ardbeg Black

• Nose: Creamy with some notes of anise, soot and summer fruits - cherries, strawberries, apricots and pears - after a while it gives way to yeast cakes with crumbles, dark chocolate, coffee and almonds.
• Taste: Fruit pudding combined with cedar wood and the scent of a humidor. Oak tannins and the rich aroma of black truffles release delicate notes of smoked jam tart.
• Finish: Long, smoky and full of soot, sweet and full of sherry and wine tannin.

2019 - Ardbeg Drum

NAS single malt whisky from 2019 mixed cask: ex-bourbon and ex-rum cask with strength 46%. If you like exotic fruits with peat taste this bottle it’s for you. Pepper, citrus, burnt wood, pineapple, cinnamon, much peat, sweet this are most flavored taste which I found.

2018 - Ardbeg Groves

2017 - Ardbeg Kelpie

• Nose: Sea breeze with seaweed and algae, buttery notes with vanilla, peat smoke, iodine, wet sand, a pinch of pepper, light citrus, sea salt, wet wood, dim fire, a handful of dried herbs, ripe fruits, small leather, dried fruits in the background
• Taste: Mineral, sea water, some seaweed and algae, sweet peat smoke with ash, a bit of iodine, wet sand, light citrus fruits, vanilla, a pinch of dried herbs and pepper, wet wood, dried fruits in the background
• End: Long sea breeze with peat smoke, a bit of iodine, ash, a pinch of pepper, a handful of dried herbs and fruits.

2016 Ardbeg Dark cove

What is so incredibly good about it? What makes this bottle better than the others? The taste is very balanced and this thin line between the sweetness of sherry and the characteristic peat smoke has been preserved here so much that one does not clash with the other. On the nose we have a lot of sweetness, caramel, raisins, fresh coffee, peat smoke in the background but noticeable, slightly peppery, spices. The show begins on the tongue when sweet notes of sherry balance with thick smoke from the bonfire accompanied by peat, smoked meat, raisins in chocolate, iodine, orange peel. On the finish we have a beautifully composed taste, sweet, peaty, there is no shortage of red fruits here, pepper, caramel.

2015 - Ardbeg Perpetum

2014 - Ardbeg Auriverdes

12yo single malt whisky from 2014 bottled with strength 49,9% matured in American oak cask. Similar in taste to another of my favorite distilleries from Islay @laphroaig . Much sea taste, iodine, burn wood, much citrus, pepper, sweet, bitter from oak cask. From limon to grapefruit with mixed taste of peat and sweet.

2013 - Ardbeg Ardbog

2012 - Ardbeg Day

2011 - Ardbeg el Diablo

2009 - 2010 Single cask Ardbeg

[2008 - Ardbeg Renaissance] (https://spiritory.com/ardbeg-1998-renaissance-2405)

It was released in 2008 in a natural strength of 55.9%. Since then, the basic Ardbeg 10 year old is made only from distillates after the renaissance of the distillery. 21,000 pieces of this unique whisky were bottled.

• Nose: deep and medicinal with notes of iodine, citrus, peat, vanilla, cinnamon, tropical fruit and chocolate.
• Taste: full and rich with notes of peat, smoke, iodine, wet earth, cinnamon, ginger, lime, chocolate and smoked meat.
• Finish: long and warming with notes of smoke, peat, vanilla cream and liquorice and citrus.

2004 - 2006 Single cask Ardbeg