TWE bottles 25yo Ardbeg for Old & Rare show

by Melita Kiely

The Whisky Exchange has revealed an exclusive bottling for its third annual Old & Rare whisky show – a 25-year-old Ardbeg single malt.

Only 175 bottles of The Single Malts of Scotland Director’s Special Ardbeg 25 Year Old have been produced, sourced from a single cask from the Islay distillery. The whisky will be on sale at The Whisky Show: Old and Rare 2019, which will take place in Glasgow from 23-24 February. On the nose, the 25-year-old Ardbeg is said to have notes of pipe tobacco, apricots, pears and lemon cake served with lapsang souchong tea, which leads to flavours of grilled capsicum and courgette, sea salt, cracked black pepper and liquorice on the palate. The finish has notes of ash, soft fruits and hazelnut. Bottled at 55.5% abv, The Single Malts of Scotland Director’s Special Ardbeg 25 Year Old will be priced at RRP £499 (US$640) per 700ml bottle. The Whisky Show: Old & Rare was established in 2017, following the success of The Whisky Show, which is held in London each year. In 2018, The Whisky Show celebrated its 10th anniversary with a trio of limited edition "futuristic" whiskies.