La dolce vita: Ardbeg
This year’s Fèis Ìle and Ardbeg Day bottling, Dolce, combines the Islay distillery’s signature peat with sweet Sicilian fortified wine.
Each year, the Islay Festival of Music and Malt attracts around 20,000 whisky enthusiasts to the Scottish island, celebrating its rich distilling heritage, and providing an opportunity to connect with like-minded people. This year, the 40th anniversary edition of Fèis Ìle will take place from 22 to 31 May, with the final Saturday, 30 May, dedicated to all things Ardbeg.
Since its introduction in 2012, Ardbeg Day has evolved into a global celebration of the distillery’s ‘beasty’, smoky single malt. In homage to this year’s limited edition release, Ardbeg Dolce, fans are encouraged to embrace the glamour of 1960s Italian cinema with an Ardbeggian twist, and to celebrate la dolce vita – the sweet life – in Islay style.
Ardbeg Dolce features rare malt matured in Marsala dolce casks, the sweetest of the Sicilian fortified wines, combined with classic Bourbon cask-matured Ardbeg. The sunset orange-hued whisky highlights the distillery’s signature ‘peaty paradox’ – a harmonious balance of sweetness and smoke.
With an ABV of 47.8%, Dolce entices with aromas of sun-ripened oranges and apricots, followed by notes of dark chocolate mingled with olive groves, finishing with soft smoke and salted nuts.
“Uniting whisky matured in Marsala dolce casks and classic Ardbeg, Ardbeg Dolce is a dramatic blend of Mediterranean sweetness and Islay peat,” says Gillian Macdonald, Ardbeg master blender and co-chair of the Ardbeg Committee. “Sweet notes of apricot, marmalade and dark chocolate rub shoulders with salty, smoky flavours and roasted nutty tones. Enjoy this limited edition in a Sicilian courtyard, on a rain-drenched Scottish island or wherever you are. We think it’ll be an instant classic.”
Global celebration
On Ardbeg Day, the distillery and committee events held around the world will celebrate the whisky’s unique blend of flavours by reimagining la dolce vita through an Ardbeggian perspective. Drawing inspiration from the iconic style of 1960s Italian cinema, the events will combine Mediterranean glamour with the rugged authenticity of Islay. Committee members and their friends will enjoy Italian delicacies infused with Islay flavours, sample Ardbeg Dolce single malt whisky, play retro games, and dance to a mix of Mediterranean street music and Scottish folk tunes.
Bryony McNiven, distillery manager of Ardbeg and committee co-chair, explains: “For smoky malt lovers, life doesn’t get much sweeter than on Ardbeg Day. And this year, we’re celebrating the sweet life Islay-style. It’s time to dial up the 1960s spirit and enjoy ‘la dolce Islay’.”
The limited edition Ardbeg Dolce will be available for purchase starting 26 May through www.ardbeg.com and Ardbeg Embassies in the UK, with a recommended retail price of £85. The release will also be available at specialist and online retailers from 30 May, with special Ardbeg Day celebrations hosted at Berry Bros & Rudd, Hard To Find Whisky, Royal Mile Whiskies, and The Whisky Exchange.
Get early access to bottlings such as Ardbeg Dolce by joining the Ardbeg Committee at www.ardbeg.com/committee
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