Ardbeg Dark Cove – smugglers’ delight

The Islay Festival is drawing to close. Tomorrow is the last day, and in usual fashion, things are ending with a bang: it’s Ardbeg  Day – or, as they are calling it this year, Ardbeg Night . Unlike the other Islay distilleries, Ardbeg shares its open day with folks who can’t make it to the island, and its festival bottling will be hitting the shelves of our London shop and website on Saturday – introducing Ardbeg Dark Cove .

This year’s origin story talks about the illicit history of distillation of the island, with tales of smugglers and their night-time exploits in the years...