Ardbeg: The Lazarus of Single Malt Whisky

by Rachel Wilson The first distillery at Ardbeg on the island of Islay was built by the McDougall brothers at Ardbeg farm in 1798 and run as a commercial business from 1815. However the Ardbeg area was much favoured by smugglers and illicit distillers and distilling had probably been going on in the neighbourhood for some time previously. The excise men discovered a large cache of illicit whisky at the end of the 18th century. During the 18th century many small illicit distilleries were set up