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new ardbeg celtic cycle jersey

ardbeg celtic cycle jersey

i've been saying i've been going to write it for more years than i care to admit; 'the teetotallers' guide to the islay malts'. i'm really not sure quite how i intend to achieve this, but it's very hard not to learn a lot of things about whisky when you're surrounded by the stuff. our back garden overlooks bowmore distillery's bonded warehouses and the distillery itself is but a few hundred metres down the road. every wednesday and sunday, the air is redolent with the smell of peat smoke, as another batch of floor-malted barley is made ready for the next fill.

and as many of you will be aware, bruichladdich distillery is but a few metres away from debbie's; one of the sunday morning peloton holds a senior position in their digital media department. yet, though i have become more accustomed to the aroma than was the case when i arrived, i still feel no compulsion to pour myself a dram of a friday eve while watching yet another repeat of new tricks.

ardbeg celtic cycle jersey

that being the case, it calls into serious question just how i plan to engage with the reading public by publishing a few hundred pages on the amber nectar, aimed purely at others like me who have no desire to join the merry international throng of whisky drinkers. yet whisky's very existence has encouraged the makers of irn-bru to position it as 'your other national drink'. always, of course, assuming that your nationality is scottish.

i have often jested that were the distilleries to be removed from islay, it would leave the island resembling st kilda, a world heritage site positioned some distance off the west coast of the outer hebrides, the population of which was evacuated to mainland scotland in 1930. though islay was once a hive of agricultural and fishing activity, both have declined over the years while the distilleries have thrived. both bruichladdich and kilchoman have encouraged local farmers to grow barley for their 100% islay expressions (which is how whisky bottlings are now referred to) certainly helping to keep certain portions of the island's farming alive. but there's no real doubt that islay single malt whisky is on the up; if evidence were needed in support of this contention, witness the fact that there are currently eight distilleries on the island, with a ninth currently under construction at ardnahoe, about half-way along the road to bunnahabhain distillery.

ardbeg celtic cycle jersey

but throughout all this resurgence and increasingly corporate stance (currently, kilchoman is the only islay distillery still in private hands), ardbeg has contrived to retain its je ne sais quoi. if it were a rock band, it would be the doobie brothers. though we, as a peloton, visit the old kiln café very rarely these days, when we actually do (as in the recent ride of the falling rain), you couldn't ask for a friendlier welcome. and though at least some of that is because staff and cyclists are all islanders together, i can't say i've noticed any diminution in the welcome offered to visitors.

additionally, though i haven't conducted an exhaustive survey of the other distilleries around the principality, i do believe that ardbeg is the sole provider of bona-fide cycle parking.

the louis vuitton, moet hennessy owned distillery was also the very first amongst its peers to offer an appropriately monikered cycle jersey. modesty prevents me from telling just how much pressure they were under from yours truly so to do, but nonetheless, their eventual acquiescence undoubtedly gave them a jump-start on the others, many of whom have now followed suit by selling their own branded variations. woe betide the distillers who ignore the velocipedinists in their midst.

ardbeg celtic cycle jersey

yet, while their neighbours debate whether there's any point in catering to the cycling public, the doobie brothers have not rested upon their laurels; currently, there are three variations of ardbeg jersey available, the original and the retro editions have recently been joined by the celtic variation, a stylish variant of the original but featuring the ubiquitous gold knotwork in a vertical stripe down front and rear. for those more used to ordering a medium-size, these jerseys originated by the cycle jersey tend to be less of a race-fit; i opted for size small and that seems to have been a judicious decision. those of you who realise the compulsory nature of owning just such a statement of intent, will no doubt appreciate that acquiring your very own from the distillery itself is the preferred option.

however, both ardbeg and i realise that this is not possible for everyone, so can i therefore helpfully point you in the direction of the cycle jersey's online store? then you can pretend you wore it while sipping a dram of the latest ardbeg expression (an oa, since you ask) while sat outside the filling store listening to the waves breaking on the pier wall.

ardbeg.com

saturday 2 september 2017

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................