Scotland, Isle of Islay. Distillery operational. Owner: LVMH - Diageo

Founded in 1815 by McDougall & Co. in the south-east of Islay, near the Kildalton Cross, Ardbeg's malt was for a long time overshadowed by its neighbours and competitors Lagavulin and Laphroaig.It was under the patronage of the McDonald family (Glenmorangie Plc), who bought the distillery in 1997, that it was able to develop its potential and introduce the public to the treasures sleeping in its vaults. Between September and November 1997, no less than three bottlings - two of which would become great classics - were released on the market, the Ardbeg 17 Year Old, Ardbeg 1978 and Ardbeg Provenance 1974. The following decade was rich in single cask, cask strength bottlings matured in sherry and bourbon casks, each more impressive than the next. And it was dressed in a new green bottle with confident Celtic-Gothic aesthetics that Ardbeg flooded the market for fans of malts dominated by aromas of smoke, peat and tiger balm.

Ardbeg 10 Year Old has been the distillery classic since the 1970s/1980s. The last bottles were sold by Allied Distillers in the early 1990s. Ardbeg closed between 1981 and 1989, creating a gap in the stock so when Glenmorangie bought the distillery in 1997, the first aged edition was a 17 year old. Ardbeg 10 Year Old returned in 2000 with several younger editions illustrating the whisky’’s evolution until it reached the same age: Very Young, Still Young, Almost There and Renaissance.