Speyside 10yo 46% Hart Brothers Finest Collection
Citrussy, smells young, pretty much the same lightness as the original 12 year old. But the taste is really much more intriguing and exciting. Quite sweet, anis seeds, liquorice, vanilla and raw marcipan. Much to discover, but lacks some aftertaste and roundness
A sweet adventure: 6
Speyside 12yo 40% OB
From the producers of Drumguish comes the real highland malt, the Speyside (?). Taste of cut/dried grass, a little anonimous, mountain air. Nearly no aftertaste at all. Does have a couple o'miles to go before it's broadly recognized, but a little plus for the nice softness.
Upcoming gentleman's malt?: 4
Drumguish NAS 40% OB (Speyside Distillery)
Brags on the bottle about being one of Scotlands smallest distilleries, and truly there aren't much else to brag about here. Doesn't taste bad at all, but taste really of nothing at all. A little hint of peach and alcohol maybe.
A tasteless dram: 2
onsdag 30. april 2008
tirsdag 1. april 2008
13 Ardbegs tasted between 1.4.2008-28.5.2011
Ardbeg NAS 57.3% OB Rollercoaster
This one exclusively made for the Ardbeg Committee, some sort of cult containing peatheads from all over the world, and I also think they're owning a square of Islay, or maybe that is the Laphroaigians? Anyway, let's see if this can tempt me towards a membership. Smells oil and alcohol, not the typical citrus coastal nose. Oh yeah, and there's some peat as well. The taste is peppery, citrus, grapefruit, a very mild Ardbeg with far less coastal character than I'm used to. Turns a bit yeasty after a while, not my favorite Ardbeg but it got its moments.
One that needs water to deliver some complexity: 6.5
Ardbeg 25yo 46% OB Lord of the Isles
I'm doing a very small peat marathon today, all from Islay, starting with this pricey and much talked about bottling by Ardbeg distillery. It's rare to see a whisky at only 46% and not from a single cask create so much fuzz. Smells classical Ardbeg peat, light peatiness over coastal odors of sea salt, fuel and bonfire smoke, not unlike older versions of the 10yo. But its as if the smell has a sweet finish, a provocative nose, but in a good way. It tells me its robust and powerful before it in the end shows a completely different, sweet and innocent speyside-ish side. The taste is opposite, in that it starts on some sweet marshmallows and fat oily notes with some mellow citrus fruits in the background. Then the ashy, sort of peppery notes comes along. A very good Ardbeg, but just not as coastal as I remember it at its best.
a two-sided Ardbeg, some of the best of two worlds: 8
Ardbeg 11yo 1998-2009 57.9% Adelphi's cask#1981
This one from Adelphi, I'm yet to have a good young peated whisky from this independent bottler, but when it come to older sherry casked whiskies they're usually fantastic. This one is more peppery and less peaty than Dun's. Smells just a bit tired. Extremely peppery, a bit dry, and far less complex than Dun's. Needs water I guess, but it's an alright dram without water too. Water makes it more dry, more peppery, less flavoursome.I'm not sure, but I guess this comes from a 2nd fill sherry cask or something.
A bit much cask influence maybe?: 5
Ardbeg 11yo 56.2% Dun Bheagan cask#1782
Finishing this Islay escapade with two independently bottled Ardbegs. This one smells fresh, salty, oaky, peaty, coastal, ashy, it's just a mix of everything good from islay, I believe. It's just perfectly peaty, very peppery and lightly sweet, like some very aromatic barbeque sauce. The taste returns all of these flavours again and again, the peatiness that usually makes the tastebuds numb after a while takes nothing away from this intense coastal whisky.
No water in this one: 8
Ardbeg 10yo 56% OB Renaissance
The offspring of the Almost There, again an offspring of the Very Young, well I haven't got the other generations here so I guess this one will have to make it on its own. This one has a pretty similar nose as the Blasda, definately a good amount of bourbon-matured whisky. The taste is extremely sweet and smoky, hickory, peppery style. Actually Chili would be the right pepper, an inferno of good flavours, just a bit hard to detect behind all the peaty notes. I believe it needs a small bit of water. With a small drop of water i gets mineral, minty, a bit metallic, smoky, pure pleasure, but once again far from as complex as I remember the good Almost There.
Sweet baby, a dangerous blonde: 8
Ardbeg NAS 40% OB Blasda
Another day, another dram, but wait a minute, something I've seen going on for ages on other whiskytasting websites, the fairly extended ones at least, is vertical tasting. Different drams from same distillery. Let's give it a try with some Ardbeg. This is the lightly peated Blasda that used to come in a clear container. It doesn't have much colour, smells sweet, whipped eggs, cream, sweet & fruity. The taste is very sweet, sugary, maple syrup, then turns peaty and peppery. Because the body in this case seems to be so much lighter than other Ardbegs the peat still gets a say here.
An easy, clean cut and very bourbonized Ardbeg: 7
Ardbeg NAS 60.1% OB Supernova 2010
Time to try this crazy peat freak experiment, I believe the Supernova used to be the most heavily peated malt in the world. Then Bruichladdich launched the Octomore, the rest is history I guess. This one smells almost only smoke and some very restrained salty coastal notes. The taste is so sweet it numbs the tongue, but other than the peat there aren't much else to it I'm afraid, some vanilla, some burnt notes. Hey, this is one of the few Islayers I've come across that actually really improves a lot with time, like old sherried speysiders. Same vanilla and coastal notes, just a bit stronger, and the peatiness gets just a bit more subtle, good, if that's to your liking.
A funny end to the Vertical, must try again some time: 7.5
Ardbeg NAS 54.2% OB Uigeadail
I was pretty disappointed with the Corrywreckan the other day. Hopefully this will be much better. On the nose I'm getting sweet cigar, honey, smoke, peat, salt and more peat. It's peppery, peaty, a real straight-forward Ardbeg, with a less coastal profile than many others, but it's plenty enough for me. The aftertaste is long and sweet. It first of all compares with some older versions of the 10yo, but I'd say it's even better.
Fantastic Ardbeg: 9
Ardbeg 27yo 1978-2005 43% Connoisseurs Choice Gordon and Macphail
Ardbeg is very good when originally bottled, but I've rarely found it as good when it comes to IB's. At this age it should be a treat anyway. It smells very sour, lemon and peat. The taste is peppery, lemons, some light peatiness and salt. The taste is a bit closed so I'll give it some water. With some water it gets a bit sweeter and a bit stearic, like rubbery and oily. The aftertaste is short and anonymous.
Slightly boring, but still a nice malt: 5.5
Ardbeg NAS 56.2% OB Still Young
This Ardbeg is inbetween the "very young" and the "almost there", I don't care too much about which's youngest and oldest of the NAS editions, but I do like younger Ardbegs better than the +15yo's I've tried. It smells fresh, lively, smoky, vanilla, lemon and oak. Very fresh and smooth. The taste is also fresh, numb, austere, pepper, grassy, all works good together. The aftertaste is short, sweet and very anonymous.
A nice Ardbeg initiation malt: 6.5
Ardbeg NAS 57.1% OB Corryvreckan
One of the many gaelic named versions of Ardbeg. It has a sweet and spicy malt nose. Reminds me at first somewhat of the fabulous Talisker 18. The taste is rather dry and quite boring to be honest. I guess some of the good maritime character might disappear behind the high abv. OK, I recognize the peat in this one, but it's very weak. And there's no aftertaste at all. I know many people love this one, but honest to god, I have no idea why.
A boring whisky: 3
Ardbeg 17yo 40% OB
Finally I'm going to try the 17yo from the much connoisseur-promoted Ardbeg Distillery. Fun to see what another 7 years does to the robust and peaty 10yo. It is bizarely mild on the nose actually, like a much diluted version of Talisker 18, with some coffee, marshmallows and tea. It tastes very mild as well, grassy, some liquorice and some Malzbier.
Good, but not living up to it's potential, I presume: 5
Ardbeg 10yo 46% OB
Massive whisky, rich smoke, pepper, lemon, seasalt and much much more. One of the things that really surprised me with this one, is that even though it's peaty and strong, it works absolutely perfect in Irish Coffee as well ;)
An Almost Ultimate Experience?: 8.5
This one exclusively made for the Ardbeg Committee, some sort of cult containing peatheads from all over the world, and I also think they're owning a square of Islay, or maybe that is the Laphroaigians? Anyway, let's see if this can tempt me towards a membership. Smells oil and alcohol, not the typical citrus coastal nose. Oh yeah, and there's some peat as well. The taste is peppery, citrus, grapefruit, a very mild Ardbeg with far less coastal character than I'm used to. Turns a bit yeasty after a while, not my favorite Ardbeg but it got its moments.
One that needs water to deliver some complexity: 6.5
Ardbeg 25yo 46% OB Lord of the Isles
I'm doing a very small peat marathon today, all from Islay, starting with this pricey and much talked about bottling by Ardbeg distillery. It's rare to see a whisky at only 46% and not from a single cask create so much fuzz. Smells classical Ardbeg peat, light peatiness over coastal odors of sea salt, fuel and bonfire smoke, not unlike older versions of the 10yo. But its as if the smell has a sweet finish, a provocative nose, but in a good way. It tells me its robust and powerful before it in the end shows a completely different, sweet and innocent speyside-ish side. The taste is opposite, in that it starts on some sweet marshmallows and fat oily notes with some mellow citrus fruits in the background. Then the ashy, sort of peppery notes comes along. A very good Ardbeg, but just not as coastal as I remember it at its best.
a two-sided Ardbeg, some of the best of two worlds: 8
Ardbeg 11yo 1998-2009 57.9% Adelphi's cask#1981
This one from Adelphi, I'm yet to have a good young peated whisky from this independent bottler, but when it come to older sherry casked whiskies they're usually fantastic. This one is more peppery and less peaty than Dun's. Smells just a bit tired. Extremely peppery, a bit dry, and far less complex than Dun's. Needs water I guess, but it's an alright dram without water too. Water makes it more dry, more peppery, less flavoursome.I'm not sure, but I guess this comes from a 2nd fill sherry cask or something.
A bit much cask influence maybe?: 5
Ardbeg 11yo 56.2% Dun Bheagan cask#1782
Finishing this Islay escapade with two independently bottled Ardbegs. This one smells fresh, salty, oaky, peaty, coastal, ashy, it's just a mix of everything good from islay, I believe. It's just perfectly peaty, very peppery and lightly sweet, like some very aromatic barbeque sauce. The taste returns all of these flavours again and again, the peatiness that usually makes the tastebuds numb after a while takes nothing away from this intense coastal whisky.
No water in this one: 8
Ardbeg 10yo 56% OB Renaissance
The offspring of the Almost There, again an offspring of the Very Young, well I haven't got the other generations here so I guess this one will have to make it on its own. This one has a pretty similar nose as the Blasda, definately a good amount of bourbon-matured whisky. The taste is extremely sweet and smoky, hickory, peppery style. Actually Chili would be the right pepper, an inferno of good flavours, just a bit hard to detect behind all the peaty notes. I believe it needs a small bit of water. With a small drop of water i gets mineral, minty, a bit metallic, smoky, pure pleasure, but once again far from as complex as I remember the good Almost There.
Sweet baby, a dangerous blonde: 8
Ardbeg NAS 40% OB Blasda
Another day, another dram, but wait a minute, something I've seen going on for ages on other whiskytasting websites, the fairly extended ones at least, is vertical tasting. Different drams from same distillery. Let's give it a try with some Ardbeg. This is the lightly peated Blasda that used to come in a clear container. It doesn't have much colour, smells sweet, whipped eggs, cream, sweet & fruity. The taste is very sweet, sugary, maple syrup, then turns peaty and peppery. Because the body in this case seems to be so much lighter than other Ardbegs the peat still gets a say here.
An easy, clean cut and very bourbonized Ardbeg: 7
Ardbeg NAS 60.1% OB Supernova 2010
Time to try this crazy peat freak experiment, I believe the Supernova used to be the most heavily peated malt in the world. Then Bruichladdich launched the Octomore, the rest is history I guess. This one smells almost only smoke and some very restrained salty coastal notes. The taste is so sweet it numbs the tongue, but other than the peat there aren't much else to it I'm afraid, some vanilla, some burnt notes. Hey, this is one of the few Islayers I've come across that actually really improves a lot with time, like old sherried speysiders. Same vanilla and coastal notes, just a bit stronger, and the peatiness gets just a bit more subtle, good, if that's to your liking.
A funny end to the Vertical, must try again some time: 7.5
Ardbeg NAS 54.2% OB Uigeadail
I was pretty disappointed with the Corrywreckan the other day. Hopefully this will be much better. On the nose I'm getting sweet cigar, honey, smoke, peat, salt and more peat. It's peppery, peaty, a real straight-forward Ardbeg, with a less coastal profile than many others, but it's plenty enough for me. The aftertaste is long and sweet. It first of all compares with some older versions of the 10yo, but I'd say it's even better.
Fantastic Ardbeg: 9
Ardbeg 27yo 1978-2005 43% Connoisseurs Choice Gordon and Macphail
Ardbeg is very good when originally bottled, but I've rarely found it as good when it comes to IB's. At this age it should be a treat anyway. It smells very sour, lemon and peat. The taste is peppery, lemons, some light peatiness and salt. The taste is a bit closed so I'll give it some water. With some water it gets a bit sweeter and a bit stearic, like rubbery and oily. The aftertaste is short and anonymous.
Slightly boring, but still a nice malt: 5.5
Ardbeg NAS 56.2% OB Still Young
This Ardbeg is inbetween the "very young" and the "almost there", I don't care too much about which's youngest and oldest of the NAS editions, but I do like younger Ardbegs better than the +15yo's I've tried. It smells fresh, lively, smoky, vanilla, lemon and oak. Very fresh and smooth. The taste is also fresh, numb, austere, pepper, grassy, all works good together. The aftertaste is short, sweet and very anonymous.
A nice Ardbeg initiation malt: 6.5
Ardbeg NAS 57.1% OB Corryvreckan
One of the many gaelic named versions of Ardbeg. It has a sweet and spicy malt nose. Reminds me at first somewhat of the fabulous Talisker 18. The taste is rather dry and quite boring to be honest. I guess some of the good maritime character might disappear behind the high abv. OK, I recognize the peat in this one, but it's very weak. And there's no aftertaste at all. I know many people love this one, but honest to god, I have no idea why.
A boring whisky: 3
Ardbeg 17yo 40% OB
Finally I'm going to try the 17yo from the much connoisseur-promoted Ardbeg Distillery. Fun to see what another 7 years does to the robust and peaty 10yo. It is bizarely mild on the nose actually, like a much diluted version of Talisker 18, with some coffee, marshmallows and tea. It tastes very mild as well, grassy, some liquorice and some Malzbier.
Good, but not living up to it's potential, I presume: 5
Ardbeg 10yo 46% OB
Massive whisky, rich smoke, pepper, lemon, seasalt and much much more. One of the things that really surprised me with this one, is that even though it's peaty and strong, it works absolutely perfect in Irish Coffee as well ;)
An Almost Ultimate Experience?: 8.5
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