Ardbeg Uigeadail with individual case - Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Ardbeg

The dauntless soul of Whisky

Ardbeg whisky's story is a tumultuous one. It began in 1798. The MacDougall family, freshly arrived on the island of Islay, built a farm on the current site of the distillery. They build a makeshift tool and start the clandestine distillation of whisky. It is one of the three "Kildalton distilleries" with Lagavulin and Laphroaig, the latter being close to the Kildalton cross. This area of ​​the island was at the time the favorite haunt of clandestine distillers. It was only in 1815 that the production license was granted to them and that legal production could begin.

From 1835, the distillery produced 2,300 liters of spirits per week and managed distribution on the island itself. Marketing outside the island is handled by a merchant from Glasgow, Thomas Buchanan. He became the owner of the distillery in 1837. In 1840 a second partner joined the business and even ran the distillery, Colin Hay. In 1847, the Campbell family who owned a large part of the island experienced great financial difficulties and the southern part of the island, Kildalton, was sold to the businessman John Ramsay. The latter was the owner of the Port Ellen distillery, but his agreement with Ardbeg was to be fruitful.

Since 1855, Ardbeg has been the largest whisky distillery on the island and supported no less than 200 people. Until the First World War, Ardbeg Maltese his own peat barley from the island in his famous kiln. The distillery was closed during the two world wars and the economic crisis of the 1930s, in other words from 1914 to 1950, because of the shortage of barley or the rise in the price of the latter.

Between 1950 and 1981, when it closed, it successively passed through the hands of 4 different companies, resale after resale. In 1977 the Kilns were the first to close. It is finally Allied Breweries which will close its doors, in 1981 therefore. But in 1996 the distillery was bought by Glenmorangie PLC, a company co-owned by LVMH and Diagéo. It now employs 15 full-time people and is the island's most successful distillery.

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