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Ardbeg launches 13-year-old whisky

Islay distillery Ardbeg has bottled a 13-year-old whisky made using the longest fermentation in the producer’s history.

Ardbeg
The bottling can be picked up for RRP £150 (US$203)

The limited edition bottling will launch on 1 February, and has been fermented for three weeks due to an ‘unplanned experiment’.

Dr Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg’s director of distilling and whisky creation, said: “I’ve always wanted to experiment with longer fermentations, so I think an unintentional boiler breakdown was the best thing that could have happened.”

In 2007, after the distillery failed to fix a broken boiler, Lumsden instructed the team throw open the washback lids and expose the liquid to Islay air. As a result, a three-week fermentation began, said to be the longest in the whisky producer’s history.

Lumsden added: “For context, most Ardbeg is only fermented for 72 hours, making three weeks unchartered territory for us.

“The outcome is a dram that tastes like pure science fiction. Peat and smoke meld beautifully with fresh, floral flavours, while sharp, more malty notes give Ardbeg Fermutation a uniquely zingy profile.”

Ardbeg Fermutation is described as a ‘wild, zingy and vibrant’ whisky, and is available to members of The Ardbeg Committee for RRP £150 (US$203).

Colin Gordon, Ardbeg’s distillery manager, said: “Blind luck is sometimes just part of the way we do things here at Ardbeg. But the creation of Fermutation wasn’t simply good fortune. Quick thinking, ingenuity and a little assistance from tiny beings in the atmosphere helped us get here.

“At 13 years old, this is of course an aged Ardbeg – something I’m sure our fans will be delighted to get their hands on.”

In October last year, the brand unveiled its Monster Ice Scream Truck Tour, which travelled to three UK cities over Halloween.

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