Ardbeg - The Harpy’s Tale: A Story of Smoke and Sweetness

Ardbeg has never been one for the faint-hearted, and the ambition shown with this unusual hybrid encapsulates that; The Harpy’s Tale (46%), a Single Malt Scotch aged for 13 years in a combination of ex-bourbon and sweet Sauternes casks.

Amongst tough competition, Ardbeg is considered by many whisky connoisseurs to be one of the most peaty, smoky, and complex drams on the island of Islay – a place known for exactly that. Where Ardbeg often stand out however, is with what they dub, ‘the peaty paradox’, something deliciously demonstrated with this release, because alongside all that peaty smoke, Ardbeg are known for nuanced sweetness. With The Harpy’s Tale, this comes from the sweet Sauternes ageing which brings a mouthwatering woody sweetness that works like a dream.

The aroma rising from the beautiful amber huge is noticeably oily, with hints of olive oil, coriander, and sage, before a waft of smoked lemon that appears only for a moment.

True to the nose, the oily softness of the liquid is a delight and carries you straight into that woody, treacle sweetness before the smokier notes begin to win the battle. Think aniseed, smoked apricots, and eucalyptus, as the tussle takes shape and spills over into the lingering aftertaste where it’s joined by a touch of fragrant spice. For a single sip, it’s quite the journey.

Paying homage to this experiment is the charming packaging, based around the Harpy, a half-human half-bird winged hybrid from ancient mythology – it’s the complete package.

Harpy’s Tale is the first in Ardbeg’s new Anthology Collection, with more experimental single malts to come. More specifically, they will feature cask types never used before at the distillery… and if the success with Sauternes can be replicated, then we can’t wait to see what’s next.

You can find this innovative Islay blend on Ardbeg’s website for the RRP of £141.

Ardbeg make a beer! All for a good cause.

Words by Colin Hampden-White

Ardbeg has announced its first ever beer called “The Shortie Porter”. The name comes from the Ardbeg Jack Russel mascot: “Shortie”. All profits created in partnership with Brewgooder, a social enterprise, will go to clean water projects in Malawi.

This was all the idea of Alan McIntyre, the Global Senior Brand Manager of Ardbeg and his flatmate Alan Mahon, who is the founder of Brewgooder. The beer was originally scheduled for release on World Water Day on the 22nd of March, but because of the Coronavirus pandemic that was postponed. The beer will now be available from the 13th of August from Ardbeg.com and specialist retailers.  

Dr Bill Lumsden, Ardbeg Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks commented: “We all dig Ardbeg, and no more so than Shortie. So for this life-saving, well-digging clean water brew, it was only fitting that our canine mascot should represent Islay. As with most porters, this beer is smooth and creamy. However, our malt has helped make it distinctly smoky – the way we imagine an Ardbeg beer is meant to taste!” 

The beer isn’t as smoky as one might expect, and certainly not as smoky as the whiskies the distillery is so famous for creating. The smoke is incredibly well-balanced, allowing bitter chocolate, espresso coffee and a little black treacle sweetness to come through. It is a refreshing yet complex beer.

Ardbeg joined forces with Williams Bros. Brewing Co to create the beer. The Shortie Porter was made using the peated malt that makes 10 year old Ardbeg, giving the beer its smoky character.  

Mickey Heads, Ardbeg Distillery Manager, said: “Not only is this a hugely important cause – that we’re delighted to be a part of – but The Shortie Smoky Porter is of course a first for the Distillery. Helping brew a beer may seem like unchartered territory for Ardbeg, but as any whiskyphile worth their malt will tell you, beer and whisky share the same DNA. Just like brewers, we ferment our malt. The only difference being, we hold on to the hops. We hope that Ardbeggians and craft beer lovers alike will enjoy this extra special limited edition.”

The Shortie Porter will be a limited edition and only available to the UK market. Depending on how much has been made, and they haven’t told us, I suggest you will need to be quick off the mark to order some, especially if it goes as quickly as other limited releases from Ardbeg. 

Alan Mahon, founder of Brewgooder, commented: "This collaboration is particularly special for me. To create an incredible beer that helps empower people's lives is one thing, to do it with one of the world's best whisky brands is another, but to bring it to life with my best friend: there are few things I have been prouder of in my life. I look forward to working with the team at Ardbeg to turn the profits from this beer into life-saving clean water wells for those who need them."

As it was originally planned for March, and at 6.2%, I thought the beer might be at odds with the summer months, especially with the heatwave we are currently experiencing. But I found myself surprised at how versatile and fresh it is. Even though it is a dark beer, it is crisp and lively and much of this is down to the smoke bringing all the flavours together. It’s a beer for all seasons with a great charitable reason to buy it.

The Shortie Smoky Porter will be available to purchase exclusively in the UK from Ardbeg.com, and from selected retailers, from 13 August – priced at £14 for a four pack. 

If you love smoky whisky, and in particular Ardbeg, look at the smokiness rankings we gave their annual releases. See which one was the winner here! 

The World’s First Peated Tomato Juice

Yep, that’s right. This is the first tomato juice to have been infused with Islay peat smoke. The result? A totally unique flavour that screams “Bloody Mary!”. Not only is it richer and deeper in taste than your standard tomato juice, it’s hand-crafted in Scotland itself by a small team of gastronomic food innovators. 

Quite exciting, given how much we love a bloody mary. Now, they recommend you mix it up with vodka (recipe below), but I would argue for those who love peat as much as we do, drop a wee dram of whisky in there instead for a double whammy peat punch. Don’t forget that mandatory slice of shortbread on the side too.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with peat – it’s an organic material that has decomposed over millions of years. On Islay, it absorbs all of the sea salt from the atmosphere given you’re never far away from the coast, in doing so infusing all of that rich goodness when smoked.

A local smokery is used to extract maximum flavour, with the dried peat being infused into the fresh, seasonal tomatoes. What you get is a super rich batch of sweet, smoky and salty tomatoes and in turn, their juice. Damn. 

Okay, enough talk, let’s get to the good stuff. 

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Tongue In Peat’s Smoky Mary Recipe 

Ingredients: 

50ml vodka (or a peaty whisky!)
6 drops Tabasco
8 drops Worcestershire sauce 1 pinch celery salt
1 tsp horseradish
2 tsp fresh lime juice 

Method: 

Rub a wedge of lemon along the rim of your glass, then coat with black pepper. Add the vodka, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, salt, horseradish and lime juice before topping up with Tongue in Peat Smoked Tomato Juice. Fill the glass with ice then stir, and garnish with a wedge of lemon and celery stick. 

Tongue in Peat is now available in 250ml or 500ml glass bottles from selected online retailers including directly from Tongueinpeat.com as well as Paisley Drinks Company and Craft56.co.uk 

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