Ardbeg's New Fèis Ìle Expression Leans Into Gravity

Mashing is the stage in whisky production that takes place right before fermentation, but it’s seldom mentioned in discussions of the whisky-making process. Distillers touting flavor usually talk about maturation, finishing casks, rare heirloom grains, exotic brewing yeast strains, or specialty malts. Mashing is not a big topic, and high-gravity mashing even less so.

While high-gravity mashing sounds like something that might require assistance from NASA, it’s actually fairly straightforward. It involves scaling back the amount of water added to the mash tun, to create a more concentrated and flavorful wort prior to fermentation. The “gravity” part merely refers to the overall density of the wort, which contains a higher intensity of certain flavor-bearing esters. It’s a technique used by scotch distilleries including Inchdairnie and Teaninich, and has now been deployed by Ardbeg for Smokiverse, its Fèis Ìle release for 2025.

Distillers that use high-gravity mashing often credit it for bringing added complexity to their whisky. Ardbeg found that, after the heavy-gravity wort for this whisky had been fermented and distilled, the spirit was generally fruitier than usual, with some interesting tropical notes. After aging in bourbon barrels, the final product is said to retain those ripe tropical fruit flavors alongside bubble gum, toasted sourdough bread, industrial creosote smoke, muscovado sugar, and bonfire embers. Smokiverse was bottled at 48.3% ABV, a bit higher than the distillery’s usual 46%. “By ramping up the density of the wort, we’ve drawn in fruitier, sweeter flavors,” said Ardbeg’s director of distilling Dr. Bill Lumsden in a statement.

In addition to its unveiling at Fèis Ìle, Smokiverse will be the centerpiece of the celebrations at this year’s Ardbeg Day, which falls on the last day of the festival on Saturday, May 31st. If you can’t make it to Islay this year (or just want to get your hands on a bottle ahead of time), Ardbeg Smokiverse is slated to launch in the U.S. on May 15th, available at specialist whisky retailers across the country at a suggested retail price of $125. An online presale via ReserveBar will take place a few days before that, with Ardbeg Committee members receiving the link before anyone else.

If you’re lucky enough to be traveling to Islay, there’s no better time of year than the annual Fèis Ìle festival. Each year toward the end of May, peat fans flock to Islay—the mecca of peated scotch—to celebrate the island’s culture, history, and, of course, its whisky. The festival goes for 10 days and nights, offering exclusive distillery tours (each distillery gets its own special day so that people can visit as many as possible) as well as music, dancing, food, and drams aplenty.

Ardbeg has been releasing Fèis Ìle whiskies for quite some time, and they almost always generate excitement. That’s because each expression—which is also a celebration of the distillery’s official fan club The Ardbeg Committee—spotlights an interesting feature or production process that isn’t widely used throughout the rest of Ardbeg’s lineup. The list includes New Zealand pinot noir casks (2020’s Blaaack), heavily charred bourbon barrels (2021’s Scorch), a mashbill of extra-heavily roasted “black malt” barley (2022’s Ardcore), and liquid distilled without a purifier (2023’s Heavy Vapors). Last year’s release, Spectacular, took things to new heights: marking the first time that Ardbeg matured whisky in port pipes and earning the distillery a spot on our Top 20 list.

Ardbeg Smokiverse Islay Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 48.3%
SRP: $125
Availability: Launching in U.S. retailers on May 15th, with an online pre-sale via ReserveBar to come in the days prior.