Tastes

Good lord. Bought this bottle a few months ago and waited until the guy who introduced me to whiskey was having a birthday and I popped it with him. Worth the wait!! Initial nose is all the Ardbeg. The cork smelled like every Ardbeg I’ve ever had. I like to think I could have picked it out without knowing but before buying this NOT CHEAP bottle I did my research. First taste is almost all citrus, particularly ORANGE, then burnt orange and then more fresh orange. Tons of orange. I’ve had a ton of great fruity scotch and I’ve had even more great peaty and Smokey scotch. The way they make this an amazing version of both is mind boggling. By the end I was nosing orange and no longer had much smoke but then it came back. This is an amazing whiskey. If I can convince my fiancée this is a good investment I’ll probably try to pick one up to hide in the closet for a few years. I look forward to coming back to this on special occasions. It is a very special whiskey

I’ve given this lower marks before but I can’t remember why. If you want sweet and easy this isn’t for you. If you want to be smacked by a fist full of peat this is wonderful. This, Lagavulin 8, Talisker and Ardbeg 10s are my go to every day sippers. The nose is mostly peat and smoke. If you can get through it I’m picking up a little lemon maybe? Other than the obvious peat explosion I taste the sea, salt, campfire, bonfire, some light citrus on the back end, it’s very vegetal. Oily coating mouthfeel and a lingering finish. Both of these things are what I’m looking for in a whiskey. No need to rush off or rush into the next sip. I want to taste it for a few minutes before putting the glass back to my mouth. Maybe a little menthol on the finish? It’s just lovely. And at $34 a bottle I picked up an extra one so I don’t have to be afraid to finish this.

12 Year Special Reserve. Didn’t see a tab for it. Sweet and easy

Sweetness plus Laphroaig. Nice mouth coating

4.5. This was awesome

Tasted a little watered down but good. 10th is bigger

This was wonderful. Smokey peaty punch but not overpowering or painful. Thanks for the try S&R. Looking for a bottle now

Third pour from this 2 week old bottle and I’m sticking around 3.5. Again it’s the finish. Something isn’t fully together like with the 10, DE and 18. But also again...$30 for the bottle is tough to beat

3.25