DOLCE
It’s La Dolce Vita, Islay style! Ardbeg Dolce is the 2026 Ardbeg Day release and you can buy your bottle here!
Meet Ardbeg DoLCe
Sicily is the land of silk headscarves, scooters, and long walks along the beach, drenched in sun. Islay is the land of woolly hats, tractors and long walks along the beach, just drenched.
For Ardbeg Day at this year's Fèis Ile (The Islay Festival), the famous distillery has matured its signature peated whisky in “dolce” (sweet) Marsala fortified wine casks to give it a Sicilian spin. This spin folds in Marsala richness among the distillery’s usual blast of smoke, brine, citrus, and medicinal chaos.
We’re talking dark chocolate, apricot, roasted nuts, burnt orange, salted caramel, and that slightly savoury edge good fortified wine brings when it’s handled properly. It's not so much a dessert whisky as much as a peat monster in expensive loafers. Get yours now, right here, and also help yourself to a bottle from the rest of the Ardbeg range.
There's also free tumblers with certain purchases, but only 80 of them and once they're gone, they're gone!
Straight from the master blender's mouth
Don't just take it from us. Here's what the wonderful Gillian Macdonald, master blender and co-chair of the Ardbeg Committee, had to say on the new release.
“Uniting whisky matured in Marsala dolce casks and classic Ardbeg, Ardbeg Dolce is a dramatic blend of Mediterranean sweetness and Islay peat. Sweet notes of apricot, marmalade and dark chocolate rub shoulders with salty, smoky flavours and roasted nutty tones. Enjoy this limited edition in a Sicilian courtyard, on rain-drenched Scottish island or wherever you are. We think it’ll be an instant classic.”
– Gillian Macdonald.
Bottle Information
Cocktail Recipe
Ardbeg Dolce
Ardbeg Dolce is a single malt Scotch whisky matured in a combination of bourbon casks and Marsala dolce casks, the sweetest style of Sicily’s fortified wine. Marsala, used properly, brings more than just sweetness. You get dried fruit, caramel, a bit of nuttiness, and that slightly savoury, oxidative edge so things don't get cloying. It’s bottled at a hearty 47.8% ABV.
Tasting Notes
Nose:
Bonfire smoke and sea spray meet orange marmalade, dried apricot, and a drizzle of honey. Toasted almonds and a touch of olive oil, alongside dark chocolate and a flicker of herbal bitterness.
Palate:
Oily peat smoke wrapped up in sweet layers of caramel, fig, and raisin. Then chocolate-covered orange, roasted nuts, and a hint of coffee, Ardbeg’s citrusy zip and a salty edge. A gentle spice builds, with clove and cracked black pepper adding bite.
Finish:
Sweet spice, cocoa, and lingering dried fruit fade slowly into ashy peat, brine, and a final twist of bitter orange peel.
Explore the rest of Ardbeg's whiskies
There's more to Ardbeg. Shop the rest of the Islay distillery's whisky here, with select purchases bagging you a free tumbler!
Explore the rest of Ardbeg's whiskies
There's more to Ardbeg. Shop the rest of the Islay distillery's whisky here, with select purchases bagging you a free tumbler!
