Tasting 6 more Ardbegs

Ardbeg was on everyones lips a couple years ago. A hardcore fanbase still persist, but a small dip in quality on some more recent batches, and Bruichladdichs rise in popularity with their Octomores seems there's another peated whisky on everyones lips, literally, these days. I hope Ardbeg can continue making great whisky even when all the old stock is gone.



Ardbeg 17yo 40% OB

This whisky was never as well conceived as the 10yo, maybe due to the fact that older whisky often loses some of the peaty notes along the way. Honey golden color. It smells of yarn, fabric, wheat, hay, stilton, white wine, rotten eggs, peaty, smoky, salty, peanut butter, oat meal. The taste is burnt, grassy, peaty, salty, earthy, muddy water (?), orange peel, nutty, vanilla, a very light whisky, far apart from the 10yo in my opinion. But it not a bad dram at all, just a bit astray from the distilleries usual profile.

One for Ardbeg sceptics, shows they're capable of more than peat monsters: 6.5


Ardbeg 7yo 43% Big Market The Unicorne

I do not know what the unicorn (which is actually misspelled Unicorne) on this bottle symbolizes. Very young Ardbeg. One rarely find these at low strength. I like the aesthetic part of these waxed tops, but they're a bitch to open sometimes. The color is golden. It smells of peat, seaweed, smoked salmon, smoky, dark chocolate, honeypuffs, licorice, grassy. The taste is sweet, vanilla, peppery, peaty, clean, smooth, a most dangerously drinkable Ardbeg. The finish is short and peppery.

Quaffable: 7


Ardbeg 13yo 1999-2012 49% OB Galileo

This one was finished in ex-marsala casks. Marsala is a sweet spanish red wine. The color is amber. It smells of dark grapes, mustard, coffee, cinnamon, sweet spices, rosé pepper, coriander, stewed onions, garlic butter. This is actually very nice. The taste is bittersweet, red wine, tannic, dry. If the 17yo was unlikely, this is just everything but an Ardbeg character in my opinion. Quite dull and possibly a bottling that unfortunately will do little good to Ardbegs reputation.

Red wine and Ardbeg is an unlikely and not very successful combo imho: 3


Ardbeg 17yo 1994-2011 56.5% Murray McDavid Mission Gold

In 1994 was Ardbeg only distilling for two months, so its quite a treat to get this at CS. I believe most of the produce from those two months went to blending. The color on this one is white wine. It smells of peat, peppery, coastal, chili, raw chopped onions, smoky, very raw, more Laphroaig styled this one I think, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The taste is peppery, peaty, bitter, herbs, salty, ginger, bacon, vanilla. This is a bit hard to get the hang of, very easy bourbon-matured sweet whisky. Apart from the peat blasts. Surely Ardbeg aficionados will love this one. Could've been bottled a couple years younger perhaps.

Old style Ardbeg: 7


Ardbeg 18yo 1993-2011 56.9% Murray McDavid Mission Gold

Also in 1993 Ardbeg was open only 2 months a year. This one is also from a sherry cask, but from a slightly tighter and smaller on one as it produced 245 bottles versus 306 from the 1994 version. Its a bit weird they haven't put a cask# on this one. The color is hay. It smells of lime, sour notes, glue, peaty, dry, peppery, beeswax, onions, dry white wine, smoky, gasoline, paraffin, this one really smells heavily of gasoline, quite intriguing. The taste is heavily peated and drying, sweet, vanilla, soft licorice, honeysuckle, palm oil, peppery, dried sardines, pickled herrings, very dry and peppery aftertaste.

Superb stuff, one of the best Ardbegs I'v tried: 9


Ardbeg NAS 2011 57.1% OB Corryvreckan

This one should be interesting, I've somehow already preferred the Uigeadail to the Corryvreckan even though the Corryvreckan is a more reliable produce with less variations within each batch. The color is amber. It smells of ginger, sugary, caramel, honey, mint, raw-ish, grainy. For me, this is a bit young and un-finished, spirity if you like. The taste is peaty, peppery, drying, old fabric, phenolic, burnt, I hope some water will redeem this some. With three small drops of water it turns more bitter, burnt, phenolic and peaty. A lot of off-notes. I can surely see it as a favorite of some Ardbeggians, but for me, this is an immature whisky for peat-freaks only.

Mostly young and immature spirit's been used in this I think: 4



Next tasting: Bruichladdich Distillery