Archive for the ‘ Ardbeg ’ Category

01/12/11 Ardbeg Lord of the Isles

First dram of December, only 30 more to go and my year of whiskies is over!

I’ve been meaning to buy this for a few years now and never quite got round to it. Fortunately an opportunity arose for a swap of some drams and the gentleman in question had this on his shelf.

A marriage of casks from ’74, ’75 and ’76, diluted to 46% for bottling.

Subtle smoke and tar, damp smouldering peat but still just a whiff of it. No peat monster this. Oily yet surprisingly fruity (oranges). Menthol, eucalyptus. Some obvious sherry influence – nuts and spiciness. Soft leather. Bbq. Pipe smoke.

Very smooth mouthfeel.

Hugely complex, multi-faceted. I admire it but oddly don’t love it.

4/5.

Thanks to Hans for the dram, slàinte!

2011
12/01
CATEGORY
Ardbeg
Islay
1 comment

16/10/11 Ardbeg SMWS 33.79

[Tag 4/5]

10yo ex-bourbon first fill cask from SMWS.

Classic Ardbeg – smoking bbq embers, savoury smoked peppery ham, citrus fruit. On reduction it gets sweeter with some coconut, lime (and drink em both up?) and bananas. Surprisingly sweet but still thumpingly smoky.

The flavour profile”s right, the balance is exquisite, the finish sublime. But I still don’t love it. It’s a darn good cask, it’s a darn good Ardbeg. Not far from perfection, lacking some real power that I expect from Ardbeg.

4/5

2011
10/16
CATEGORY
Ardbeg
Islay
SMWS
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15/10/11 Ardbeg SMWS 33.67

An old-school bottling from SMWS. I prefer these old bottles because they fit my shelves better…the new ones just squeeze in on one particular shelf and it drives me nuts :-(

Anyway, what a monster this is.

Intense soot and dry smoke, soap, tar, arbroath smoky, vanilla, a little green chilli (!) Big, comples sunovabitch this one, fresh and sharp, well balanced but so powerful in it’s delivery.

Beautiful. Slighty tame finish though.

4/5

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

2011
10/15
CATEGORY
Ardbeg
Islay
SMWS
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13/09/11 Ardbeg SMWS 33.91

A 10yo sherry puncheon from Ardbeg.

Sooty coal smoke, bonfire embers, sweet sticky bbq ribs, bacon, heavily smoked haddock, some perfume…lavendar perhaps. Beautifully balanced between oak, smoke, savoury and sweet sherry.

Ahhhh, it’s bloody good!

Hmmmm, I think I’ll go with a 4 but that’s not an easy decision. Outstanding.

2011
09/13
CATEGORY
Ardbeg
Islay
SMWS
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28/08/11 Ardbeg SMWS 33.83

Another SMWS bottling from Ardbeg tonight, this one is a 7yo 2nd fill bourbon cask.

Intense and brooding, this dram is salty and very, very smoky (in a sooty kind of way.) Water helps a lot and shows some mint, eucalyptus, grass, green apples, vanilla and oily tar.

A good dram but not great Ardbeg sadly. Not bad at all but not up to “Very Young” at the same age.

3/5

2011
08/28
CATEGORY
Ardbeg
Islay
SMWS
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