Ardbeg '1815' 1974 & 1975 Official 200th Anniversary Bottle 50.1%

I never thought I would get to taste it. Ardbeg ARDBEG 1815 1974 & 1975 OB 200th Anniversary 50.1% One of 400 bottles The aroma is deep, mellow and sweet, with notes of burnt apricot jam, cinnamon-spiced apple pie, earthiness and leather, a sharp metallic quality, fish and shellfish smoke, dashi broth, a rich yet strong peat. On the palate, it spreads slowly with a cohesive texture, plum and apricot jam, rich umami with bite, gentle sweetness and pleasant astringency, gravel and decaying leaves, iodine and strong smoky peat, with a rich, long finish. 【Very Good/Excellent】 This special bottle was released in 2015 to commemorate Ardbeg's 200th anniversary, with only 400 bottles produced. It appears to be a vatting of rare old casks distilled in 1974 and 1975, which remained at the distillery. While I knew Ardbeg had quietly released this bottle as a commemorative edition alongside its younger, perpetual stock for the bicentennial, it was rare with only 400 bottles produced and priced at around £3,000 per bottle, making it hard to find. However, around 10 bottles were reportedly imported into Japan by late 2017, and I was fortunate enough to obtain one of them. The whisky has the distinct metallic quality and earthy nuances typical of 1970s Ardbeg, but this bottle also had a notable cask influence. I had the impression that good 1970s Ardbeg was often bottled with less than 20 years of aging, retaining more of its original character. (Though recently, aged bottlings have been expensive and hard to find...) This commemorative bottle had a long aging process, influenced by the cask, and its nuances were well integrated with the original spirit. It may have also benefited from a few years passing after vatting, resulting in an unexpectedly refined texture. This was a proud example of 1970s Ardbeg worthy of its commemorative bottle. Such high-priced bottles are often used for bottle keeping by the wealthy in hotel bars, so it's rare to find them sold as shots in regular bars. I'm grateful for the opportunity to taste this bottle, which I received at the 'Whisky Lovers Nagoya 2018 Pre-Tasting' event held by IAN at Mitsukoshi-Mae.