Ardbeg “Dark Cove”
Taking a page from the illicit beginnings of whisky production in a long ago Scotland, the 2016 Committee Release by Ardbeg is called the Dark Cove. This hearkens back to before the official founding of the distillery in 1815, specifically to a time when excise men from the government found and raided the secret cove from whence the smugglers had long been using as a base of operations. With that illegal arm of whisky distribution disbanded, the site was soon occupied by the McDougall family, who were the founders of Ardbeg. Legend has it John McDougall’s own sons, Alexander and Alan, were arrested for smuggling years before the distillery was born. Ardbeg held many events under the cover of night upon this release, along with aging the spirit in dark sherry casks.
Amrut Fusion
Amrut has a special place in our collective memory. The first time we tasted the standard offering before we’d even begun our collective exploration, the results were…memorable. And horrific. Fast forward two years of developing our palates and, while perhaps still not our first choice at the bar, we can better appreciate what the distillery is trying to do. The history of whisky in India is a proud and interesting one. Amrut started over 65 years ago; a large company, only a small percentage of its revenue is from whisky. While most Indian distilleries serve their domestic tastes, Amrut is focused primarily on foreign markets. Their single malt line has only been available for the past decade or so, and this heralded Fusion combines barley from India with barley from Scotland, which has been peat smoked.