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5th June 2024 |
Introducing
Ardbeg The Abyss 34 Year Old which has
the same 1989 Ardbeg spirit at its core
as was used for the original Ardbeg
Corryvreckan release back in 2008. The
Abyss is a limited edition of only 400
bottles which have a RRP of £21,250.
 Today, Ardbeg Islay single malt unveiled
an iconic rebirth with Ardbeg The Abyss.
This richly powerful whisky emerges from
the rare essence of a fan favourite—the
original limited-edition Ardbeg
Corryvreckan, released in 2008. Ardbeg
tells me that The Ardbeg The Abyss 34
Year Old has been uniquely transformed
during its 34 years of maturation,
revealing extraordinary new flavours
which they say are destined to secure its legendary status.
At the core of the original Ardbeg
Corryvreckan was mature 1989 spirit,
initially aged in bourbon casks and then
finished in specially toasted
'ultra-active' French oak casks. These
unique casks endowed the limited edition
with its intense depth. While most of
these irreplaceable casks were used in
the 2008 bottling, a few were preserved.
From these last surviving barrels comes
Ardbeg The Abyss, its raw power now
transformed. Encased in a sleek, silver
capsule, this rich and unusually dark
Ardbeg is said to offer drinkers swirls
of toasted marshmallows and tea leaves,
with notes of dark chocolate, pecan,
leather, and creosote lingering nearby.
To mark The Abyss’s release, renowned
American comic-book artist Tradd Moore
has re-imagined the Corryvreckan
whirlpool legend in a fantastical
graphic novel, exclusively available in
print with the 400 numbered bottles of
The Abyss.
Tradd Moore’s graphic novel
immerses readers in a parallel world
inspired by Ardbeg Corryvreckan’s
namesake—a fathomless whirlpool near
Ardbeg’s Scottish island home. According
to legend, Viking prince Breacan
anchored his ship there for three days
and nights to win the Lord of the Isles’
daughter, only to be lost to its depths.
Mirroring the whisky’s journey into new
flavour dimensions, Tradd breathes new
life into Breacan, who travels through
space and time to be reborn on Planet
Ardbeg.
Dr Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg’s Director of
Whisky Creation, said: "Ardbeg The Abyss
is the stuff of Ardbeggian legend.
Formed from the rare heart of that
original, sought-after 2008 limited
release of Corryvreckan, this
34-year-old whisky has been transported
by time into a new world of flavour.
Held in a tiny handful of those rare,
heavily toasted French oak casks, its
400 bottles contain mysterious depths of
toasted marshmallows, dark chocolate,
pecan nuts and leather – a rare taste of
an Ardbeg icon revived, and re-imagined."
Tradd said: "When I visited Islay,
everything felt holistic: the island
itself, the people, the stories. From
visiting the whirlpool to trying to
swirl whisky in the glass, it all felt
interconnected. I’m a big fan of
mythology and as soon as I heard the
legend of Corryvreckan, I just knew I
wanted to reflect The Abyss’s mysterious
depths through the story of Prince Breacan.
On his own journey into mystery, he sees
the abyss, enters the unknown and is
swept up and surprised by what he
finds…"
Ardbeg The Abyss will be available for
purchase on the Ardbeg website and at
the Distillery Visitor Centre on Islay,
and through the Moët Hennessy Private
Client channel worldwide and as I am
sure you can imagine you will need deep
pockets if you want to taste this one,
it has a RRP of £21,250/25,000 Euro.
To celebrate Ardbeg Corryvreckan’s
significance in the distillery’s
history, 1,000 limited-edition bottles
of the core range Ardbeg Corryvreckan
will also be released. These bottles
feature label designs by Tradd Moore,
with four distinct designs, each taken
from a frame in The Abyss graphic novel.
These exclusive bottles will be
available only at the Distillery Visitor
Centre on Islay starting in June.
You will also find the current
Ardbeg whisky range available from specialist online whisky
shops such as
The Whisky Exchange
and
Master of Malt
|
Ardbeg The Abyss Review
|
Bottled at 48% ABV.
Producer's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich,
pungent and aromatic but mellow, deep
and gentle at the same time. There are
aromas of toasting marshmallows,
aromatic tea leaves, roasted chestnut,
baking sourdough bread and something
altogether zestier, like lemon balsam. A
lingering, background sweetness, like
Demerara sugar, and then a hint of
antique leather. A splash of water opens
up the bouquet, to revel more herbal top
notes, with a whisper of lemon sherbet
and some pine resin.
Taste: A
wonderfully mellow mouthfeel with a hint
of spiciness, is followed by bold
flavours of dark chocolate, pecan nut
toffee, old leather, clove, ginger and a
touch of treacle and creosote.
Finish: The
smoke is always there, but beautifully
integrated with the oak tannins, hints
of baked apple and aniseed.
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