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Ardbeg often bottles its whisky at a higher alcohol by volume ( abv ) than the minimum 40 %, and many bottlings are not chill filtered.

Both of these measures are thought to yield a more full-flavoured whisky.

The process of lowering the alcohol content at bottling can dilute the flavour, and while chill filtration gives the whisky a clearer appearance at lower temperatures by removing fatty acids, proteins and esters that can cluster together, the loss of these compounds can also result in a loss of flavour ; in particular the esters can contribute a fruit-like fragrance.