Ardbeg 10 Years Old 1993 Bourbon Hogshead 58.8% (Cadenhead’s)

Cadenhead's 1993 Ardbeg programme is the most comprehensive independent release run from any Islay distillery of the era. Allied Distillers off loaded Ardbeg stock during the cash strapped intermittent reopening years between the 1981 mothball and the 1996 final closure, allowing Cadenhead's to acquire casks at a discount before the 1997 Glenmorangie acquisition cut off the supply. The Authentic Collection was launched in 1989 as a single cask cask strength programme, with the 1993 vintage becoming a foundation pillar.

Filled into a refill bourbon hogshead in 1993 during Allied's intermittent reopening and matured for ten years before bottling in 2004 at 58.8% ABV, non chill filtered with no added colour. The 2004 release sits at the start of a long Cadenhead's 1993 Ardbeg programme that would run through 11, 12, 15, 19, 20, 24, 25 and 26 year expressions across two decades of subsequent bottlings.

Ten years of refill bourbon maturation builds early mid age expression. Cis and trans oak lactones (coconut, oiled wood) build at moderate concentration, hemicellulose furans (furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural) deliver emerging caramel and toasted almond, and lignin vanillin and syringaldehyde layer vanilla and baking spice. The 1993 Allied era peat phenols (guaiacol, syringol, 4 methylguaiacol, p cresol) read at near full intensity for classic phenolic smoke. The Ardbeg purifier ester signature delivers concentrated pineapple, lemon and tropical fruit.