The first time I ever tasted malt whisky was behind the counter at Oddbins. The shop was quiet and Duncan thought I could do with a tutorial. He poured me an Ardbeg, said things I don't remember and then added a minute amount of water. I can still recall the cloudy impact it had on the whisky, and the way the oils in the dram separated and lifted to the surface. Of course, the smoke was a new and unique flavour, but it was the raspberry sweetness on the tip of the tongue which added wonder to the drink. There and then I was fascinated. Islay whiskies are the business, full of peat and smoke. Ardbeg is something else. The distillery uses short stumpy stills which allows heavy particles to survive distillation and contribute to the rich flavour; it's a very dirty whisky. As a descriptor for its taste I often say 'engine oil'. For a very long time I had little patience for softer whiskies. Islay was the place, Ardbeg was the best.

Since, I have tasted a shitload of malts, and my appreciation of whisky has expanded and rocketed. Now I don't have favourites, I revel in diversity and I love to explore. Ardbeg has lost a little of its sheen because some recent releases have pandered specifically to the collector's market . The sleekly packaged Blasda, for example, is chill-filtered and bottled at 40%, in spite of some characteristics which set Ardbeg apart from the pack. But I let it pass, they are running a business after all. On the other hand, and younger bottlings recently made available testify to this, the product is still exceptional. Over the past five years they have released four different bottlings which traced the development of their maturing nectar: A six year old, 'Very Young'; a seven, 'Still Young'; a nine, 'Almost There'; and finally 'Renaissance', the first ten year old produced since the distillery re-opened in 1997. This illustration of the way the whisky developed in the cask is of particular interest. Problem was, each snapshot was staggered by the long wait for the next. 

Meanwhile other changes have occurred. The lauded seventeen was discontinued as older stocks dwindled. This was sensible. Ardbeg has had a turbulent history and its warehouse did not have reserves of seventeen year-old casks ready and waiting to be plundered. As the whisky got older it got more valuable, presenting the distillery with a choice: Continue to bottle older whisky as a 17 year old, thus retaining market share but devaluing the product, or sell their mature whisky as a vintage rather than an age. In 2006 'Airigh Nam Beist' appeared. It was distilled in 1990. Two years later a second edition came out. But how did they compare with the seventeen?

The difficulty that led to the discontinuation of the seventeen year old from shop shelves also approached the ten year old, Ardbeg's standard release, it's entry-level dram, its flagship whisky. Ardbeg's closure through the 1980s, and some limited production before re-opening in 1997, meant that whisky guaranteed 10 years old was not readily available, especially as the years crept by before the new batches reached maturity. Older whisky would have to fill the gap. But the Ten had consumer confidence and it had market share. To change the bottling, and the label, could jeopardise sales; to raise the price and charge the appropriate amount for older whisky would have the same effect. So (and it is unlikely anyone from Ardbeg would corroborate this) it is highly likely that Ardbeg ten year-old sold prior to 2007 was in fact older. (The laws that govern malt whisky specify that the age statement on the bottle need not be accurate, it need only guarantee the whisky is no younger than the stated age). Wouldn't it be interesting, then, to see how different the new Ten tastes compared to one bought a few years ago?

So this brings me to my point, and I am very excited about this. Myself and a few friends have put our heads together and learned that between us we have a wonderfully full repertoire of open and good-to-drink Ardbegs. We have therefore decided to pool resources and have an Ardbeg tasting session. We're calling it an Ardbeg Committee Members Meeting. I've had many a special malt session before, but never revolving around just one distillery. The three other lucky beasts are Nick, who is my boss, and a whisky collector (specialising in, of course, Ardbeg); Edom, whom I introduced to Ardbeg several years back and who now has a fine whisky shelf of his own; and Andy, my oldest friend, who has spilled many a malt with me. We have booked the first Saturday in March for the occasion, better halves have been warned, phones will be switched off, thorough tasting notes will be taken.

One final thing, though we have an excellent range to sample, each of us is bringing something. This means that none of the malts on offer will be a completely new experience to all four of us simultaneously. It also means that most of the whiskies, though often rare, are entry-level to mid-price. We're missing something. So the four of us have agreed to chip in a decent sum of cash and purchase for us, for the occasion, and for the experience, an old and expensive Ardbeg. Preferably we will have something distilled when the MacDougall family still owned the distillery, at the least we'll get something from the days when they did their own maltings. I'm thinking The Lord of the Isles. Here is the Menu, in running order, as we imagine it:

Apertif
Ardbeg BLASDA. A lightly peated, chill-filtered Ardbeg, bottled at 40%, released 2008.
Ardbeg LORD OF THE ISLES? We'll sample our something special early, so appreciation and tasting notes won't be blurred. 46%, 25 yo. 

First Course
Ardbeg VERY YOUNG. Cask Strength, 6 yo.
Ardbeg STILL YOUNG. Cask Strength, 7 yo.
Ardbeg ALMOST THERE. Cask Strength, 9 yo.
Ardbeg RENAISSANCE. Cask Strength, 10 yo.

Second Course
Vegetarian haggis pies.

Third Course
Ardbeg 10 yo. 46%, distilled? Bottled prior to 2007.
Ardbeg 10 yo. 46%, distilled 1997/8, bottled 2007/8.  
Ardbeg 17 yo. 46%
Ardbeg AIRIGH NAM BEIST. 46%, distilled 1990, bottled 2006. 

Fourth Course
Ardbeg KILDALTON. Unpeated, Cask Strength, distilled 1981, bottled 2002.
Ardbeg UIGEADAIL. Heavily sherried, Cask Strength, 'Very Old'.

Finale
The 'something special' bottle is a co-onwed treat, bought purely for this occasion. So we shall finish it.

If we survive, I shall probably put pictures on Flickr and the tasting notes here.