.ardbeg

We received a 10ml sample from a whisky that must have been an Ardbeg. The generous giver was unsure of what it could have been other than an Ardbeg and an official bottling but knew my love for the distillery and insisted I took it. I hid the bottle from the Mrs. and kept the whole mini-mini to myself*

??% abv, €??
single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: sweet, a hint of peat-smoke, sweet, menthol, eucalyptus 

Palate: sweet, honey, floral, violets, eucalyptus, spicy, white pepper, a hint of smoke 

Finish: a hint of smoke, the taste of freshly malted barley, firm, sweet, liquorice, medium long, a slight metallic afterthought
Mark: +++++ 

Conclusion: It is a shame not knowing which whisky this is, really, because this is exactly what I like about whisky.A little smoky, but not too much, a beautiful hint of sweetness and floral notes, and that bit of "oumpfh". Would I want a bottle? Yes. Can I afford a bottle? No. Because I don't know which one to look for. Which is sad.
Boss: if you read this, I need a raise. A big one. It is long overdue anyway...

*untrue. The Mrs also knows I still have a soft spot for Ardbeg and freely let me have it. Gotta love her. 
I have let her sniff though. 

Briefly.

.ardbeg - auriverdes

At the Feis Ile - the festival of music and spirit on the Isle of Islay, every distillery has their own event bottling, mostly released during their own day, or spread in smaller batches during the week of festivities. Ardbeg distillery is normally the distillery that ends the sequence of festivities with a large themed party at their distillery terrain, and have a bottling reflecting that very same theme, just as most of their staff. In 2014, this bottling was themed after the World Football Championship, taking part during the same period, "named after its golden whisky (auri), and unmistakable green bottle (verde)" from the colors of the Brazilian flag and of various Brazilian national sports teams.

.ardbeg - 29yo - douglas laing - platinum selection

During Whisky Afloat 2014, there were those unavoidable moments amoung whisky-nerds whisky-aficionados the discussion turned to why old whiskies are supposedly better then new whiskies. Earlier in the day we have had a 1950's Johnnie Walker Red Label (awesome!) and some other elderly blends and single malts from the Bring Your Own Bottle table. At some point later in the evening, our host Bennie went away on a mission though his cabinet and came back with a bottle of Douglas Laing's Ardbeg 29 year old from their discontinued Platinum Selection. Smoothly mentioning my birthday coming up in a couple of days, 1973 being my birth-year and Ardbeg the start of my passion for whisky, he secretly filled a sample bottle and with the slight of hand of a seasoned magician, he handed it to me. On my birthday, I opened it.

.ardbeg - ardbeg day

56.7% abv, €65, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour, cask strength

Nose: lots of ash, smoke and band-aids. A campfire with burning daisies and bananas.
Palate: very heavy on the band-aids. Lots of dry smoke and ash, vèry hot jalapeño peppers but with water some sweetness of honeycomb and caramel show. Some violets and bananas can be found when you're not looking for them.
Finish: band-aids, hot and long. Later more smoke and ash pop up followed by some caramel sweetness and floral notes. A slight note of the band-aids stays.
Mark: ++/+++

.ardbeg - supernova 2010

60,1% abv, €65, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: Obviously a lot of peatsmoke, sweat and old socks at first. When continuing, there is a lot more to find; salmon, sweet strawberries and juniper berries, amongst many more different scents, that keep changing every time you put your nose in the glass.
Palate: Sweet honeycomb on the palate, with liquorice and mangos joining in. Many other sweet fruits and fruitcake have a go while ginger and gingerbread are having a party too.
Finish:  a long finish, with ash, smoke, tar and coals. Some of the honey sweetness stays too, but the high ppms really find their place in the lingering finish.
Mark: ++++/+

.ardbeg - 23yo - douglas laing - director's cut

53.1% abv, € coming soon, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour, cask strength

Nose: A lot of citrus notes on the nose when opening the little bottle, especially blood oranges stick out. A whiff of smoke - but not overpowering as is expected from an older peated whisky - and a hint of fresh salmon too. Furthermore there are lots of different red berries to be found and some green herbs, where sage and basil are most recognisable.
Palate: A quite honey-sweet taste, lots of fruits with mangos and stewed pears and many red berries. Dark and bitter chocolate, more citrus and spicy hot white peppers layer the inside of the palate.
Finish: A long, smoky and ashy finish, some marmalade and grapefruit.
Mark: ++++/+

.ardbeg - rollercoaster

57.3% abv, €250+, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural colour

Nose: starts fresh with notes of citrus and honey sweetness, but turns into a scent of musty mushrooms with a whiff of peatsmoke.
Palate: initially honey-sweet and floral. Turns into hot and spicy white peppers with a hint of mango.
Finish: a medium long finish with some white pepper again, a hit of ash and a slight metallic afterthought.
Mark: +++/++

.ardbeg - ardbog

the actual name on the distillery
during feis ile 2013...

52,1% abv, €91, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: sweet, gentle, fresh, fruity, peat-smoke, overripe mangos, dry, mint, eucalyptus
Palate: firm, dry, tannins, sweet, heather-honey, spicy, jalapeño peppers, salt, brine, fruit, liquorice, ripe cherries, sultanas,
Finish: medium dry, long, ash, white pepper, tropical fruits, mango, pineapple, fresh walnut skin
Mark: +++/++
Conclusion: After my first impression, I added only a half mark. It is a good Ardbeg mind you, but there are better available. My guess is that she will not get as popular as her limited siblings before her. If you still can find a bottle, second guess your need for this one and go for a Corryvreckan or better, a Uigeadail instead.

More info: This has matured in ex-Manzanilla Sherry casks for a period of 10 years and has been married with an (unknown) percentage of 'standard' ten year old Ardbeg, that has been matured in ex-Bourbon casks.

Created for Ardbeg Day 2013, traditionally the closing saturday of the Feis Ile, the festival of music and spirit on the Island of Islay. We were among the lucky few to get a bottle during the week beforehand at the distillery. Ardbeg had decided to sell 30 bottles on each day of the Feis in advance, and sadly we missed out on most days, but on the Friday we were on time to get to be with the first 30 people. Jey!

13000 bottles were made available worldwide.

.ardbeg - uigeadail

54,2% abv, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: mild smoke, mint, fresh, lemon, fruity, cauliflower, vanilla, milk chocolate, white pepper
Palate: sweet, fruity, gentle but strong - if that makes sense, raisins, plums, fresh ground black peppers, liquorice, dark chocolate
Finish: medium long, sweet, slight notes of ash
Mark: +++++
Conclusion: This is the whisky that got me hooked into whisky. At this time it still was a whisky that was not really available, and came from under the counter at a whisky festival, when the host saw me enjoy the ten.

Small update done with a sample during a tour at Ardbeg Distillery. Still great stuff...

.ardbeg - alligator

(c) Ragoem vakfotografie *

51,2% abv, €80, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: smoke, peat, sweet, caramel, strawberries, fresh, mint leaves, peppermint, milk chocolat, vanilla, white pepper,
Palate: sweet toffee, thick, gentle, white pepper, vanilla, fresh ground coffee beans, ash, dry
Finish: firm, dry, medium long, ash, sweet in the back of the throat
Mark: +++++

Conclusion: oh it is nice, but not as nice as the price suggests.

More info: As most of Ardbeg's expressions, this is no longer being created and has fallen into a highly collectable range, making it more expensive as it already was. If you can still find a bottle.
When I tried it for the first time, I added too much water, making het smell and taste as a antique bookstore. Just sayin'.

Small update done with a sample during a tour at Ardbeg Distillery, it actually lost a point.

* I feel free using the picture by Ragoem, since I assisted with the creation of it.

.ardbeg - corryvreckan

57,1% abv, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: peat, brine, liquorish, cherries, red grapefruit, ash, campfire, meaty, bacon
Palate: heavy mouthfeel, peat, sweet, honey, heather, berries, cherries, liquorish, white pepper
Finish: long, peat, ash, sweet, liquorish, red fruits
Mark: +++++

Conclusion: the peat has the upper hand in this cask strength beauty. Besides that, there is a very obvious liquorish experience, two thing I happen to like very much. She gets tamed after adding a drop water, making her much more drinkable, without the feeling the inside of your nose and palate get overly infused with alcohol and peat.

More info: Corryvreckan is the second largest whirlpool in the world, situated in the north of the island Jura, near Scotland. It is said to be named after the Viking prince Breacan, who found his end in the whirlpool, showing his love for the daughter of the Lord of the Isles.

Sad note: my bottle is empty, and I really need to re-visit this strange tasting note.
Small update done with a sample during a tour at Ardbeg Distillery.

.ardbeg - 10

46% abv, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

Nose: peat, raisins, sweet, candied fruits
Palate: spicy, sweet, tar, ash, peat, salt
Finish: long, tar smoke, firm, very present
Mark: +++++

Conclusion: it does not really show from the tasting notes, but this is a great whisky, often described as a 'smoking campfire on a beach', what is exactly the feeling you get when having a sip of this.

More info: before doing tasting notes, I regularly had a bottle of the 10 available. She even is one of the whiskies that has taught me to drink whisky altogether, and when I had another moment of buying a bottle weakness, she was the fail safe bottle for me, and still is, although I find myself looking more and more into other directions.
My wife received a miniature of the 'Ten' during our visit at the distillery in 2012, because she was our designated driver. besides Springbank this was the only place where this happened.

.ardbeg - renaissance

55,9% abv, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

No tasting notes or marks


Conclusion: I have had a bottle once, long before I was interested in making tasting notes. It will be hard to find again, let alone afford a bottle. If you have a sample, I am available for swapping.

.ardbeg - blasda

54,2% abv, single malt, non-chill filtered

No tasting notes or marks

Conclusion: I have had a bottle once, long before I was interested in making tasting notes. I know I found it good enough to try again, but I have always found an excuse not to do so. Still available, but it is not being created anymore.

The Ardbeg Blasda has been put onto the market at the same time as the Ardbeg Supernova - Ardbeg's heaviest peated whisky, versus this Blasda as their lowest peated whisky.
It has been axed by 'the whisky community' and has been called 'not an Ardbeg'. It is rumoured to be blended with other single malts, but I have not found solid proof.
I quite liked it.

.ardbeg - airigh nam beist

46% abv, single malt, non-chill filtered, natural color

No tasting notes or marks



Conclusion: I have had a bottle once, long before I was interested in making tasting notes. It will be hard to find again, let alone afford a bottle. If you have a sample, I am available for swapping.