Ardbeg - Vintage _Y2K 1st Release Islay Single Malt Scotch 2000 23 year old Whisky | Multi | Whisky | 1

Remember the year 2000? A time of frenzy and panic surrounding the millennium bug. People everywhere going crazy predicting computerised chaos, digital meltdown and an end to everything. For Ardbeg, the year 2000 was truly a momentous year. With the renovation of the Ardbeg Distillery in place, Dr. Bill and the whisky creation team used their magic on this serendipitous rare stock.

Ardbeg Vintage Y2K is a series of limited releases from the year 2000. Combining old and new,  it merges modern, innovative whisky techniques whilst using the old Ardbeg stills. Vintage_Y2K 23YO will be the first to launch in 2024 : a unique 23 year old whisky matured in Oloroso & Bourbon casks.

While no two Ardbeg are ever alike, the liquids from Vintage_Y2K are truly a smoky anomaly, a tale that will never come close to be replicated. For each release in the Vintage Y2K collection, Ardbeg will reveal a different rare secret from the 2000 archives. Providing some added value, ‘in the know’ content. Enhancing the sense of 2000 being such a special year for Ardbeg.

Aroma: Herbal, sweet and fragrant, with a subtle, distant perfumed smokiness. Next a quirky, zesty note like lemon balsam emerges, along with a suggestion of linseed oil and candied walnuts. A splash of water and the fragrance intensifies, emitting heather honey, a touch of creosote and the tiniest trace of tent canvas.

Taste: The texture is fizzy and effervescing (sherbety), with a real, vibrant effervescence on the tongue. At first the flavour is intensely sweet, then shifts as aniseed, toffee, digestive biscuits, peppermint, menthol, tar and coffee grits burst through.

Finish: The sooty/tarry flavours keep building, until they finally dissolve into a long, lingering aftertaste of antiseptic lozenges, bitter oranges and oak tannins.