Ardbeg 1991 Malts of Scotland Sherry Hogshead / Geert's Bar, Hotel Bero

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. The lack of demand in the period prior to this, thankfully, saw a lot of casks sold to independent bottlers, many of which have gone on to become legendary releases.

This was distilled in February 1991 and bottled from a sherry hogshead #14054 by Malts of Scotland in October 2014.

Malts of Scotland is a German independent bottler, founded in 2005 by whisky enthusiast and connoisseur, Thomas Ewers. The company also bottles rum through its Isla del Ron brand.

This release is one of several produced exclusively for esteemed Ardbeg collector, Geert Bero, and his hotel in Belgium.

One of 185 bottles.