Ardbeg Dolce brings Marsala sweetness to Islay smoke

Ardbeg Dolce is the 2026 Ardbeg Day release, landing during Fèis Ìle on 30 May, with early access for Committee members from 26 May.

The hook is simple. This is Ardbeg Scotch whisky matured in a combination of bourbon casks and Marsala dolce casks, the sweetest style of Sicily’s fortified wine. It’s bottled at 47.8% ABV and will retail at around £85.

Ardbeg Day itself leans into a 1960s Italian cinema theme this year, with events at the distillery and around the world built around that “la dolce vita” idea. Expect the usual mix of tastings, themed chaos, and a lot of people trying to get their hands on a bottle before it disappears.

As for the whisky, the official line points to orange, apricot, dark chocolate, herbs, and salted nuts wrapped up in Ardbeg’s trademark smoke. In other words, a sweeter, richer take on the house style, rather than a complete left turn.

Meet Ardbeg Dolce

Marsala, used properly, brings more than just sweetness. You get dried fruit, caramel, a bit of nuttiness, and that slightly savoury, oxidative edge that can stop things getting cloying.

In theory, it lines up fairly neatly with Ardbeg’s profile. The distillery already has that mix of citrus, Islay smoke, and coastal salinity, so pushing it into darker fruit and chocolate territory makes sense.

The risk is balance. Too much cask influence and you lose the distillery. Too little and what’s the point? But Ardbeg has been here plenty of times. Not with Marsala specifically, but with this broader idea of taking its core style and stretching it through different cask types for Ardbeg Day releases. They tend to work.

“La dolce Islay”

Now, what do the Ardbeg peeps have to say?

“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,” says Gillian Macdonald, master blender and co-chair of the Ardbeg Committee.

Bryony McNiven, distillery manager and Committee co-chair, adds: “For smoky malt lovers, life doesn’t get much sweeter than on Ardbeg Day. And this year, we’re celebrating the sweet life Islay-style. It’s time to dial up the 1960s spirit and enjoy ‘la dolce Islay’!”

Ardbeg Dolce will be available from Master of Malt soon. We’ll let you know when it arrives.