Ardbeg Allligator

Wine information: Ardbeg was officially founded in 1815 by the MacDougall family. It has seen a chequered history and struggled through the 1970s until it was mothballed in 1981. There was some sporadic production in the years thereafter until 1997 when Ardbeg was taken over by Glenmorangie Plc. (itself owned by Pernod Ricard). Since then the Ardbeg has gone from strength to strength. Ardbeg Alligator is the latest result of years of experimentation by the Distillery and its team, headed up by Dr Bill Lumsden of the Glenmorangie Company, head of Distilling and Whisky Creation at the Edinburgh based firm; Glenmorangie, of course, bought and restored Ardbeg back in 1997. Alligator Charring is a well known term used in the Bourbon and Scotch whisky industries to describe the method of charring (or burning) the inside of the oak casks before they are filled with spirit. The burnt wood staves take on the appearance of an alligator’s scales, hence the name. The use of these casks is relatively rare as most casks are much less heavily charred, so this latest introduction from Ardbeg is sure to rouse the curiosity of malt whisky aficionados. Dr Bill commented: “Since we bought and restored the Ardbeg Distillery we have undertaken lots of experiments, laying down spirit in different types of casks. This began back in the late 1990s and Alligator is the happy outcome of one experiment that we are really pleased with." He continued: “The heart of Alligator is spirit matured in Level 4 casks - the most intense type of charring you can achieve. The key for us then was to marry the intense smoky bacon and charcoal taste of the whisky from these heavily charred casks with the equally intense smoky peaty flavours of hallmark Ardbeg and get the right taste. We achieved this by balancing out the intensity of the charring by marrying this with some Ardbeg matured in 1st fill ex-bourbon casks. These add a creamy vanilla sweetness to the taste."

Tasting Notes: LONG NOSE: Warning signs of cumin and barbecue sauce. BIG TASTE: Hot and spicy flavours grip you, ginger and chocolate thrash. FINISH YOU OFF! Slow and long mocha espresso while cigar smoke ebbs.

Reviews: "Similar to standard Ardbeg 10 year old, except that a portion of the whisky was aged in heavily charred barrels (referred to as an “Alligator” char). An aggressive whisky—even for Ardbeg—with a leathery texture throughout. Dynamic too, with coal tar soot, bourbon barrel char, espresso, cocoa, licorice root, smoked fish, and hint of ginger. There’s a nice creamy vanilla underbelly to balance the aggressiveness and (at least partially) muzzle the Alligator." 92 Points John Hansell, Malt Advocate Magazine

 
   

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