Ardbeg Heavy Vapours Committee Release Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Ardbeg Heavy Vapours Committee Release Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky asks what Ardbeg tastes like with the purifier taken off the still. That pipe is why a heavily peated Ardbeg can still taste bright: it pulls the heaviest vapors out of the spirit. Leave them in, and the whisky stays earthier, oilier, and more tarry, then settles into ex-bourbon casks. This 2023 Ardbeg Day Committee bottling is 100.4 proof and non-chill-filtered, with no age statement. The same whisky also went to the public at 92 proof; this is the heavier one.

The distillery’s glass is pungent from the first nose: farmyard, creosote, and tarry rope, with smoke that sweetens toward dark chocolate and, with a splash of water, smoked artichoke. The palate is warming and bittersweet — coal dust, cardamom, peppermint, eucalyptus, more dark chocolate, coffee grit, aniseed, and cinnamon. Malt Runners found a medium, oily body and a savory, briney undertow, and the finish stays long, herbal, and almost numbing.