Ardbeg Dark Cove Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750ml

Manufacturer's Notes: It was a moonless night, with a fierce tide surging landward. The gang, having captured the lighthouse keeper and snuffed out the lamp's wick, sent signal to the black boats to come ashore. What fearless men these are, that navigate without light the treacherous hidden reefs that extend from the shore like barbed fingers! The cave could not be reached by land, so the men waited until the moon was full and high. Then they rowed out into the inky waters, risking life and limb to convey the cargo of peat and kindling, jars and kegs to their hideout, and food enough to sustain them until it was safe to return with the lucrative fruits of their labour. They crept through the woods under cover of darkness. Feeling their way to the cliff edge, they clambered down to their secret hideout as they had done a thousand times before. But this time they were not alone. This time they were being watched, and it was the eyes of the law that were upon them. Even the villagers had a part to play in the subterfuge. At the sight of the approaching pony and trap, they snatched up their fiddles and accordion and launched into a raucous medley of shanties, which drowned out the hollering of the smugglers as they loaded their rickety vessels with aquavitae on the rocky shore below. "[Ardbeg] was established in the year 1815, but long previous to that date it was a noted haunt of smugglers. For many years the [excise men] had been searching for this nest of illicit trafficers [sic] without success... At length the [cove] where they carried on their nefarious practices was discovered... A raid was made and the place destroyed after a seizure of a large amount of the illicit spirit. As it was impossible to procure other vessels, and finding their occupation gone, the whole band was scattered... the site of their operations was shortly after occupied by the [McDougalls] founders of Ardbeg Distillery who chose it on account of the water.." Alfred Barnard, The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom, 1887. Smuggling is in the Blood. Fourteen years before John McDougall founded Ardbeg Distillery, it is said that his own uncles, Alexander and Allan, were apprehended on charges of distilling whisky without a licence - though the precise location of their clandestine activities remains a mystery to this day. Less of a mystery is why John, having sampled his uncles' whisky, decided to establish his own, legal distillery at the rocky cove where Ardbeg sits today. Thus, from a dark past, creating the greatest legend of all. Take this whisky and hide it well. For its heart has been matured in Dark Sherry Casks, imparting waves of treacle toffee, coal tar, squid ink noodles and toasted coffee grounds. The Darkest Ardbeg ever.