This bottle is from a private collection The Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 Years Old is a very special series within the Ardbeg range. The first batch was released in 2019, followed by Batch 2 in 2020, Batch 3 in 2021 and Batch 4 in 2022. The series has since continued with later batches. What makes Traigh Bhan special? The name Traigh Bhan comes from the famous beach on Islay, locally known as the “Singing Sands.” Under certain conditions, the sand can produce a distinctive singing or squeaking sound when walked upon. Ardbeg uses the changing sea and tides as a metaphor for the character of this whisky: elegant and refined at first, gradually revealing greater power, depth and smokiness. Traigh Bhan is a 19-year-old small-batch whisky, placing it in a very different category from the regular Ardbeg 10 Year Old. The series is renowned for combining age, intense Ardbeg peat and exceptional complexity. It is bottled at 46.2% ABV and is non-chill filtered. Batch 3 – 2021 Batch 3 is particularly interesting for collectors as it is an older, discontinued batch from the series. It showcases the classic Ardbeg balance between intense smoke and rich sweetness. Official tasting notes: Nose: Wood smoke, sea spray, pine resin, aniseed toffee, citrus zest and a touch of cayenne pepper. Palate: Rich and oily, with sweet peat smoke, tarry rope, treacle toffee, soot, aniseed and smoked brown sugar. Finish: Long and lingering, with bitter almonds, linseed oil, clove, black pepper and persistent smoky peat. One of the most interesting aspects of the Traigh Bhan series is that each batch has its own individual character. This makes the different releases particularly appealing to collectors and Ardbeg enthusiasts. Batch 3 is therefore more than simply a 19-year-old Ardbeg — it is a specific release from a highly collectible small-batch series, with its own distinctive character and history.