Ardbeg Traigh Bhan
19 YEARS OLD
TRAIGH BHAN
BATCH 4
THE TIDES
HAVE TURNED
Produced in small batches and released year on year, this exceptionally rare and ever-changing 19 year old draws its inspiration from Islay’s Traigh Bhan beach, known locally as the Singing Sands.
Ardbeg Traigh Bhan Batch 4 is the fourth release in this exclusive 19 year old series. Following in the footsteps of the batches that came before it, slight changes to cask selection mean the notes in this whisky vary from the last. More herbal and uniquely mentholic, Batch 4 is a delicious evolution on the series.
BOTTLED UNDER
A FULL MOON
Bottled under a full moon, Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 Years Old Batch 4 represents a changing in the tide for this incredible spirit. An impossibly balanced flavour profile gives rise to rich notes of herbal wood smoke, eucalyptus and aniseed.
“BOTTLED UNDER A FULL MOON, TIDES HAVE CERTAINLY SHIFTED FOR THIS TRAIGH BHAN. DELICIOUSLY HERBAL WITH MENTHOL TWISTS AND TURNS, BATCH 4 IS YET ANOTHER INCREDIBLE ADDITION TO OUR EXQUISITE 19 YEAR OLD SERIES.”
– DR BILL LUMSDEN
THE BATCH CODE... DECODED
TB/04-07.03.2003/22.CG
TB – Traigh Bhan, the beach known locally as the Singing Sands and the place that inspired this bottling.
04 – The batch number. With this number, you can identify each release of Traigh Bhan.
07.03.2003 – The date indicating the age of the youngest spirit distilled each year – 2003 in this bottling’s case.
CG – The initials of a Distillery member who helped create the bottling for that year. This year’s bottling features our Distillery Manager, Colin Gordon.
With subtle changes in the batch recipe annually, Ardbeg fans will enjoy exploring the finer details of this transformational whisky every time it comes around. This means that each bottle of Ardbeg Traigh Bhan is special, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.
A MOONLIT VISTA
From the Ardbeg Distillery to Port Ellen and beyond, follow the rocky coast and you will discover the heavenly vista of Traigh Bhan (pronounced tri-van). This captivating beach has soft white sands that sing beneath your feet, and a spellbinding hum that ebbs and flows with the winds and tides.
But beguiling as this place is, do not drop your guard. Bathing here is ill-advised in the seemingly tame crystal waters where jagged, volcanic rocks pierce the sands along the shore.
The essence of Traigh Bhan is captured in this exquisite bottling. Like so many Ardbegs, it’s an iconic Islay location that has given birth to another iconic Islay dram.
CASK SELECTION – ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBE BALANCE
The epitome of an aged Ardbeg – matured in American oak and Oloroso sherry casks – Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 Years Old Batch 4 achieves the impossible balance.
Each batch of Traigh Bhan will be a slight variation on the last. This is due to minor changes in the cask selection. The main difference with Batch 4 is that it has been imbued with an altogether more herbal character.
HERBAL SWELLS
In Ardbeg Traigh Bhan Batch 4, rising aromas of herbal pine and fennel flow into sharp notes of citrusy lime sorbet and medicinal lozenge, while eucalyptus and saddle soap follow on the breeze. A splash of water releases a cascade of hazelnut, sweet vanilla, and currants, before rich minted chocolate brings the nose to a close.
A SHIFT IN THE TIDE
An intense wave of wood smoke crashes over the palate, leaving ripples of decadent dark chocolate and ground coffee in its wake. Sweeter notes of lemon curd and peanut brittle cut through the swell to reveal delicate hints of creamy raisin fudge and hazelnut.
The allure of this rare dram continues with suggestions of more medicinal, spicy notes. Menthol, fresh lemongrass, aniseed, clove and white pepper emerge from rich, smoky depths.
THE ARDBEG COMMITTEE
When Ardbeg Traigh Bhan Batch 4 began on its peaty path to maturity in the year 2003, the Ardbeg Committee was only a few years old. Back then, we at the Distillery knew all our Committee Members by name. We’d even receive regular faxes from some of them! Twenty or so years on, while times have changed, the Committee remains – albeit with a few thousand more members… (Jackie still does her best to know as many names as possible!)
To find out about the next Ardbeg Traigh Bhan release you’ll need to be part of the Committee. So if you’re not already a Member, what are you waiting for?
JOIN THE COMMITTEE
