Ardbeg 1998 Almost There - 54.1% 70cl

You would not think it to see it now, but Ardbeg had a difficult time of it for much of the 20th century.

The distillery was bought in a joint venture between Hiram Walker and DCL in 1959, both intending to supply their blends.

The subsequent years were very successful, but DCL backed out in 1979 (closing many of their other distilleries a few years later), and Hiram Walker then struggled in the 1980s era oversupply when interest is blended Scotch was waning.

They closed it down for the majority of the decade. It re-opened briefly in the 1990s before being revived for good by Glenmorangie plc in 1997.

Bottled in 2007, Almost There was the penultimate stage on the Ardbeg "Path to Peaty Maturity," which charted the progress of the first Glenmorangie plc vintage towards its tenth birthday.

The milestone was celebrated with the release of Renaissance the following year. Earlier instalments of this series were the Very Young and Still Young releases.

Please note as this is a vintage bottle, conditions of bottle/label and liquid level can vary - Some years can vary as estimations only (example: estimated 1970s/80s).