Ardbeg The Unicorn's Tale
The second edition of the Anthology Collection will be released
With Ardbeg The Unicorn's Tale, the Islay distillery presents the second edition of the Anthology Collection. The single malt whisky is 14 years old and spent this time in former Bourbon and Madeira casks. You can already find Ardbeg The Unicorn's Tale in the Whisky.de online shop.
The Anthology Collection is intended to showcase Ardbeg whisky in extraordinary aromatic nuances. Dr Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg's Director of Whisky Creation, selects special casks for each.
He says: “At Ardbeg we love to experiment with how we can push our spirit’s smoky balance into new worlds of flavour. Some time ago, we decided to try maturing Ardbeg in unusual cask types for the distillery to create sweet and smoky ‘hybrids’– and so the Anthology Collection was born. The Unicorn’s Tale is the second release in this series, which has been created by marrying classic Ardbeg matured in bourbon casks with a parcel of whisky wholly matured in sweet Madeira wine casks. The outcome is a whisky bursting with notes of banana bread and tropical fruit, fused with Ardbeg’s hallmark flavours of camphor, lime zest and wood smoke. This 14-year-old whisky may appear sweet in nature, but its smoky side is not to be underestimated!”
While for the first edition of the Anthology Collection, the Ardbeg The Harpy's Tale 13 Years, French Sauternes sweet wine casks were used to complement the bourbon cask maturation, Dr Lumsden selected casks for the Unicorn's Tale that previously contained Madeira from the Malmsey grape variety. Malmsey Madeira is a particularly sweet version of Madeira wine.
As with the Harpy's Tale, the Unicorn's Tale was also inspired by a mythical creature, and not just for the name: A unicorn adorns the label and packaging accordingly. Once again, Ardbeg has opted to bottle the whisky at 46% ABV. and has dispensed with chill-filtering and colouring.
Producer's tasting notes for the Ardbeg The Unicorn's Tale
Aroma: Rich, sweet, aromatic and fruity, baked banana bread and syrupy sponge pudding fill the senses. Notes of treacle trot into a distinctive whiff of burning cedarwood. A splash of water releases a bounty of tropical fruits. Eucalyptus oil mingles with soft, aromatic smoke.
Taste: Zesty notes of lime and sweet peaches canter across the palate. A burst of rich smoked fruit and baked bread prance into antiseptic lozenges, creosote, and aniseed. Soft barley malt combines with nutmeg and peat smoke.
Finish: The influence of these rare Madeira casks is undeniable. A whimsically smoky finish welcomes a long and lingering aftertaste of menthol, clove, wood smoke and camphor.
Images: Moet Hennessy
