Description
Ardbeg Smokiverse was the distillery’s Ardbeg Day release for 2025, launched on Islay during Fèis Ìle to mark 25 years of the Ardbeg Committee. It is a genuine production experiment: for the first time, Ardbeg used high-gravity mashing, putting less water into the mash tun to create a denser wort. During fermentation this encourages fruity acetate esters, which bring a tropical, estery edge to the familiar Ardbeg smoke.
The spirit was then matured in ex-bourbon casks, letting that fruit and peat take centre stage rather than heavy wine or sherry influence.
- Nose: Bright, estery fruit with a bubblegum note, ripening barley and sourdough; water brings out sweeter smoke and smoked tropical fruit.
- Palate: Creamy and rich, turning sooty and spicy with tar, clove and aniseed, balanced by dark muscovado sweetness, charcoal and robust oak.
- Finish: Long, with earthy peat and smouldering bonfire embers.
Taste it neat first, then add a few drops of water to open up the fruit. As a limited Ardbeg Day bottling, it is a fine addition to any Islay shelf, available from Decanter Liquor with delivery across South Africa.
