Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky is the annual small-batch bottling named for Traigh Bhan, the Singing Sands between the distillery and Port Ellen. It is aged 19 years in American oak ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry, and the cask mix changes every year, which is why the batches do not drink alike. Batches 1 through 6 are 92.4 proof; the seventh and final batch, released in 2025, is 100.6 proof and carries the highest share of first-fill Oloroso in the series. It is non-chill-filtered. When the series began in 2019 it was the first ongoing age-stated Ardbeg in nearly 20 years, and Whisky Advocate scored that debut 95.

Peat smoke, sea spray, lemon, vanilla, and dark chocolate keep returning, with a menthol or baking-spice edge on an oily body and a long finish. Later batches turn the sherry up: cocoa, espresso, and salted toffee instead of the debut’s smoked fish and iodine.