Her i 3. afdeling af Ardbeg-temaet skal vi kigge på Lord of the Isles. Jeg tror, at de fleste ved, at Ardbeg producerer en 25 år gammel whisky der som en hyldest er opkaldt efter Lord of the Isles; "this supreme expression of Ardbeg celebrates a period in Scottish history which saw Islay as the stronghold of Somerled, the Lord of the Isles".
Men hvad er historien bag Lord of the Isles?
Slår man op i Wikipedia så får man følgende at vide; John of Islay, or John MacDonald (Scottish Gaelic: Eion MacDomhnaill or Iain mac Aonghais MacDhòmhnaill; d. 1386) was the Lords of the Isles (1336-86) and chief of Clan Donald. In 1336, he styled himself Dominus Insularum, "Lord of the Isles"; because this is the first ever recorded instance of the title in use, modern historians count John as the first of the later medieval Lords of the Isles.
The designation Lord of the Isles now a Scottish title of nobility, emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, who wielded sea-power with fleets of galleys. Although at times nominal vassals of the King of Norway and/or of the King of Scotland, the island chiefs remained functionally independent for many centuries. Their territory included the Hebrides, (Skye and Ross from 1438), Knoydart, Ardnamurchan, and the Kintyre peninsula. At their height they were the greatest landowners and most powerful Lords in the British Isles following the Kings of England and Scotland.
Men hvor boede hvor holdt Clan Donald så til, jo det gjorde de på stedet der hedder Finlaggan - en lille ø i en sø, perfekt beliggenhed i forhold til at forsvare sig og sikre en høj sikkerhed. Et fantastisk sted hvor man kan mærke fortidens vingesus passere forbi. Finlaggan ligger på vejen mellem Bowmore og Port Askaig - et "must" hvis du besøger Islay.
Hvis vi skal vende lig tilbage til Ardbeg Lord of the Isles så mener jeg at sidste batch der er lavet kom tilbage i 2004. Det vil sige whisky destilleret i 1979 eller tidligere - sådan som husker denne aftapning så er den relativt lidt peated - men er rigtig god og minder i stilen mere om Ardbeg 17 års.
Har du aldrig smagt Ardbeg 25 års Lord of the Isles så har du muligheden på Singlemalt-shop.dk's Ardbeg smagning den 13. juni 2007 - tilmelding kan ske her.
