Ardbeg Ardcore - 70cl

Ardbeg Ardcore (a punk-rock play on "Hardcore") is a limited-edition No-Age-Statement (NAS) single malt released in 2022. It was crafted to celebrate Ardbeg Day and pays homage to Islay's rebellious, punk-rock subculture past and its main port's old nickname, "Punk Ellen".The Production InnovationThe headline feature of Ardcore is that it was distilled using roasted black malt. This type of barley is aggressively kilned at high temperatures until it turns entirely black, a process widely used by brewers to make dark stouts and porters but rarely seen in Scotch whisky production.This marked a major experiment for Ardbeg. The black malt heavily emphasizes deep, torrefied, and bittersweet cocoa elements over the standard grain characteristics.