Ardbeg 1995 Aqua Vitae 28 Year Old / Divine Beasts

You would not think it to see it now, but Ardbeg had a difficult time of it for much of the 20th century. The distillery was bought in a joint venture between Hiram Walker and DCL in 1959, both intending to supply their blends. The subsequent years were very successful, but DCL backed out in 1979 (closing many of their other distilleries a few years later), and Hiram Walker then struggled in the 1980s era oversupply when interest is blended Scotch was waning. They closed it down for the majority of the decade. It re-opened briefly in the 1990s before being revived for good by Glenmorangie plc in 1997.

This whisky was distilled in 1995 and matured in single sherry hosghead #211056 for 28 years. It was bottled at cask strength in 2023 by Aqua Vite as part of Whisky Selection, Divine Beasts series.

One of 145 bottles