Ardbeg Single Malt Scotch Anthology The Unicorn's Tale The Ultimate 14 Year Whiskey

This is Ardbeg at its most playful: a 14-year-old Islay single malt drawn from a marriage of bourbon and Madeira casks, released as the second installment in the distillery's experimental Anthology trilogy. The nose opens creamy, with lime zest, mandarin and banana bread, before peat smoke builds into cedarwood, rolling tobacco and treacle. On the palate, lime juice, apricot and peach meet toasted peppercorn, nutmeg and aniseed over a syrupy, sponge-pudding sweetness. The long finish turns cool with menthol and eucalyptus. Bottled at 46% ABV and non-chill filtered, it suits peat lovers curious to see how far Madeira sweetness can stretch Ardbeg's smoke, as well as collectors following the Anthology series. It is a sipping whisky first, and a Glencairn with a few drops of water reveals the most. We carry it because it shows a famously smoky distillery leaning into fruit without losing its identity, and a limited release this thoughtfully built deserves a place on the shelf.