Tastes

Perfect dram to welcome this stormy and wet evening. Nose: initially lots of vanilla. Opens up into strong salinity, peat reek, beach bonfire. There are hints of sweetness here too, caramel, a little bit of brown sugar and hints of cinnamon Palate: lots of smoke and peat initially, smooths out into a nice vanilla and charred oak. Warming. Some subtle baking spice. Prominent salinity, there's a salted caramel filled chocolate note too. Chocolate/coco comes out more as you acclimate. Every so often there is a zip of chocolate orange Finish: warming, oaky tannins, gentle whispers of a smoldering bonfire, peat phenols linger along with some barrel/baking spice

Nose: peaty, slight smoked meat, green bell pepper, a fruity vanilla creme, a hint of cola, grilled peaches. I'm getting some light yeasty notes after sitting with it a while Palate: oily, ashy, briny, deep oily woodyiness. Fruity, but light. Mild citrus; orange peel. Grilled peaches come in here too. Seaweed. Sweet but not sickly so. Vanilla. Peat is pungent throughout but well balanced by the madeira and port influences. Hints of white wine. Caramel. Finish: smoked ham on retrohale. Smoldering campfire and ash. Phenolic and peaty. Warming, toasty oak. Drying.

Nose: honeyed malt, caramel, fruity earthy sherry, notes of cinnamon, a hint of citrus zest, a hint of green apple. There is a hint of smoke, slight brine/sea spray Palate: exquisite. Smooth and sweet. Chewy and robust malt, chocolate (not quite as light as milk chocolate but not quite getting into dark chocolate territory). There is a gentle sea spray and smoke. Sherry does wonders here. Some hints of dark cherry. Cinnamon, honey, lemon curd. Finish: gentle warming spiced oak. Dry. Chocolate covered orange.

Nearing the end of this wonderful bottle, I highly recommend picking one up if you're able to find one since theyre no longer being produced. At $85 I feel like this is was a very good buy, not often you get a limited Ardbeg release that punches this far above its price point. Distinctly better than this year's "Spectacular" when A-B'd and (for me) $40 cheaper. Nose: sweet vanilla showing up much more prominently than I remember here. Ash & charcoal is present but more subdued than I remember. Smouldering peatfire on the beach, there is a strong amount of salinity as it opens up a bit more. Baking and mulling spices, hints of citrus peel and red currant Palate: strongly ashy on the first hit to the palate. Opens up into more of a prominent dark but sweet chocolate with hints of salted caramel and charred oak. Salinity weaves throughout. Peat is certainly here as well, though not dominant, bringing an umami seaweed note. Sweet malt and hints of red berries. Finish: ashy, a brown sugar maple glaze note, peat phenols and salt air

Nose: slight heat, butterscotch, dark honeyed pear. Light cinnamon. Dark sticky earthy sherry. Palate: smoother than the 60% ABV would have you believe. Has just a slight heat to it. Instense spice. Caramel/caramel apple. Sherry fruit. I feel like this is not as sickly sweet as the 12. An absolute gorgeous dram. Finish: honeyed sherried malt, oak. Warming.

Nose: gentle smokiness and brine. Getting the "fresh baked pretzels baked over briny driftwood" for sure. Candied dried fruit, earthy sherry, cinnamon, clove, a hint of black pepper. Peat is here but wrapped in a dark fruity embrace. Cherry. Palate: woody/oaky; quarter casks come out well here. Peat is present. Briny. Slightly Nutty. Earthy sherry comes through prominently but is well balanced against the woodier notes. Finish: peat comes out here, gently but present. Warming baking spice. Slightly vegetal. Slightly phenolic.

Nose: ethanol and corn, caramel, baking spice. Getting hints of red wine barrels here. Palate: nice robust oak. Very well rounded. Moderate red fruit notes. Caramel. I feel like im getting a dried out oak note, like old dark grey wood thats been sitting out for a while, wondering if this is the Hungarian oak. Definitely a corn whiskey, but mellowed out and moderately robust in flavor profile. A bit of spice. Finish: moderately thin. Hints of caramel .

Nose: caramel, cinnamon, lightly fruity, earthy dusty sherry. Classic redbreast shortbread. Palate: sweet, definitely getting the PX and oloroso influence. Berry jam, orange zest. Caramel. Wood spice. Nice malt elements. Shortbread, lightly buttery. Very well balanced, not syrupy. Finish: woody, warm, baking spice.

Nose: strong lychee mostly overpowers everything else. Licorice and black tea are subtle but present. Palate: lychee and iced sweet tea. Fruity, sweet. Very subtle rye notes. Finish: cinnamon. Lychee. Thin. Id call this a flavored whiskey, not super great neat, but this could make a killer whiskey highball or tea focused cocktail.

Nose: gin botanicals, juniper, green apple. Rye spice, herbal, sage, candied ginger, caraway Palate: rye notes are most prominent, spicy, gin botanicals are here but more muted than the nose. Apple note is here too. Light caramel and cinnamon Finish: fruity orchard apple, cinnamon. Numbing.