Ardbeg 19 year old Traigh Bhan
Review by Ardbeg
- Colour
Bronze
- Nose
Gentle ripples of smoky pineapple, soured cream and wood smoke make for an irresistible nose. Newly planed oak and supple dark leather sing to your soul as sweet toffee and liquorice draw you in.
A splash of water releases a surge of unexpected notes. Struck flint, herbal pine resin and coal tar effervesce towards citrusy lime sherbet and subtle, yet sweet vanilla cheesecake.
- Palate
The peaty power of this alluring spirit is undeniable, as it plunges your palate into its smoky depths. An intensely salty mouthfeel drifts into sweet and sour notes of smoked chili chocolate and paprika. Waves of toasted oak and roasted tea leaves emerge, before subsiding to reveal fresh peppermint fondant and salted white chocolate.
- Finish
Firm but gentle, soothing wood smoke carries into a length, lingering finish resonating far beyond the glass.
- Note
-
American oak & Oloroso sherry casks
In September of this year, smoky malt whisky lovers will have the chance to experience Ardbegs latest permanent release Ardbeg Traigh Bhan (pronounced Tri-Van). This rare 19 Year Old single malt is inspired by the heavenly vista of Islays Traigh Bhan known locally as The Singing Sands and will be made available in annual small batches.
The captivating place to which this bottling owes its name has white soft sands that sing beneath your feet. But alluring as this beach is, it can also be treacherous. Bathing is ill advised in the seemingly tame crystal waters where jagged, volcanic rocks pierce the sands along the shore.
A perfect reflection of the place that inspired it, Ardbeg Traigh Bhan is seductively smooth on the nose, before sudden, intense and rugged flavour notes come to the fore. Its exquisite taste crescendo is a rush like a surf of salt, smoke, sweet and sour.
This is the first time in 20 years that Ardbeg will release an aged whisky that is a permanent expression, produced in a single batch each year. To mark this occasion, each annual batch of Traigh Bhan will feature a unique code on the carton, bottle and foot label. With subtle differences in flavour profiles each year, Ardbeggians can research their batch code at Ardbeg.com for more information on their whiskys story.
Dr Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks, said: A new, permanent aged Ardbeg is a rare occurrence, and cause for celebration. We hope that, by slightly tweaking the batch recipe year-on-year, Ardbeggians can have some fun exploring the finer details of this ever-changing dram. As far as taste goes, this 19 Year Old whisky plunges the palate into notes of smoky pineapple and aromatic wood smoke, with a sweet mouthfeel of smoked chilli chocolate and paprika. The intense notes then peter out through a long, smoky finish.
RRP: 169 GBP
the batch code... decoded
TB/01-15.03.00/19.MH
TB Traigh Bhan, the beach known locally as the Singing Sands and the place that inspired this bottling.
01 The batch number. With this number, you can identify each release of Traigh Bhan.
15.03.00 The date indicating the age of the youngest spirit distilled each year. The year of the millennium bug threatened computer systems around the world, thankfully on the Isle of Islay we were unaffected
MH The initials of a Distillery member who helped create the bottling for that year. This years bottling features our Distillery Manager, Mickey Heads. When this whisky was disgorged, Mickey remarked that the aroma was the loveliest hed experienced in all his years.
With subtle changes in the batch recipe annually as well as the ABV% Ardbeg fans will enjoy exploring the finer details of this transformational whisky every time it comes around. This means that each bottle of Ardbeg Traigh Bhan is special, and once its gone, its gone.
