Tastes

A scotch staple for me. It's the scotch that got me interested in scotch. I really enjoy the floral note in this one.

On the nose charred lemon, ash, candied orange, mostly citrus and smoke for me. Maybe a pinch of salt. Coming back to the nose after a taste, there appears some pastry-like sweetness. Cinnamon and sugar. The palate seems richer, sweeter, and more aggressive than the nose lets on. Confectionery sweetness, vanilla, balanced with smoke/ash. Meaty, bacon maybe. A little of the citrus from the nose. There’s a smidge of brine, but it’s much more smoky compared to Laphroaig’s briny, medicinal, iodine. I prefer the Laphroaig profile, but find this to be great also. I wish Laphroaig didn’t chill filter and would bottle at 46%, so Ardbeg wins on those points. After having tried a number of Ardbeg’s other offerings and special releases, I’m refreshed to find that their core 10-year is nearly as good as about any of their others (in some cases clearly better), and still priced at only $50. Honestly, when the next overpriced marketing gimmick comes out, save your money and just buy the 10.

Vegetable soup with smoked chicken broth, vanilla citrusy sweetness, and more smoke. Takes first place for me among the 10 year Islay single malts. Update 8/22: haven’t had this one in a while. Blind whiskey night tasting. Much sweeter than I remember, balanced by salt and strong peat smoke. The ABV helps amp up the flavors. Such a good whiskey.

Brine, iodine, bandaid, burning tire. Underneath the peat is honey, citrus, sweet vanilla. Wish it was bottled at 46%, but still a classic.