John MacDougall established the present distillery on the south coast of Islay in 1815 and it was fully operational by 1817. The MacDougall family retained ownership until 1977 when Hiram Walker gained control. However, with the majority of its output used in blending, Ardbeg struggled to remain viable during the economic downturn of the 1970s, resulting in it being run on a care and maintenance basis from 1983. The distillery closed in July 1996 only to reopen in 1997. Ardbeg maintains the robust and earthy aromas associated with Islay malts. Described as having a hefty bite and a rich finish, flavours detected include peat-smoke, seaweed, sawdust and iodine. Glenmorangie Plc bought the distillery in 1997. The new owners revived the tradition of producing a very peaty single malt.

The Ardbeg 10 is revered around the world as the peatiest, smokiest, most complex single malt of them all. Yet it does not flaunt the peat; rather it gives way to the natural sweetness of the malt to produce a whisky of perfect balance. Typically most whiskies are chill-filtered and reduced to a strength of 40% ABV. Ardbeg ten year old, however, is non chill-filtered and has a strength of 46% ABV, thus retaining maximum flavour, at the same time giving more body and added depth.