Tastes

Not the best-value Ardbeg I’ve had, but a nice change of pace anyway. For me, it’s more roasted, malty, and swampy than the others. Intense and full palate of — what? — maybe beer and chocolate. The finish lingers and has a pasta aspect. It sounds a lot more disjointed than it is; the strong barley and peat unify things.

Like a cookout on a beach: salt and campfire on the nose, refreshing juicy melon on the palate, and a lingering sense of grilled hamburger on the finish. Superb intensity and balance. A bargain even in three figures.

Lovely and linear, with the usual petroleum nose. On the palate, there’s ash and a hint of salted kettlecorn, presumably from the bourbon cask influence. Not as complex as some Octomores, but it’s perfectly in tune.

Batch 68. Nose: ripe red-wine notes of currant, oak, fig, and a hint of leather. Palate: caramel, together with an awesome peppery burn from the 61.5% ABV. Finish: intense and intriguing, showing a shoe-polish note, but not super long. Nice overall package at under $90.

Considering the price point, it’s relatively complete and even complex. There’s peach, caramel, and charcoal on the nose, followed by sharp citrus and Rice Krispie Treats in the mouth. The mouthfeel is a little watery, and the finish doesn’t exactly last forever. But the QPR is quite high at $40.

Much more complex and refined than the 10, but I like the 10 better stylistically. Cottony caramel and currant on the nose, followed by a huge range of subtle flavors on the palate: honey, mixed nuts, lemon, beer, and even fried chicken. I don’t get a lot of smoke at any point, but I’m used to really obvious peat. The major disappointment for me is the finish, which comes up pretty short at this level. Not worth the $143 I paid, but it’s a nice change of pace from younger malts.

An all-around beautiful whisky: it’s outperforming the Octomore 12.2 that I’m having alongside of it. Shoe polish, oat, and charcoal on the nose give way to passion fruit, pepper, grape, and smoke in the mouth. It’s complex, balanced, and lingers forever.

Lovely integration of peat and alcohol here. They’re both intense, but without detracting from the whole package. On the nose, the peat is ashy, but there’s also band-aid and brine. For me, there’s only a hint of fruit or nut or the like: on the palate there’s faint watermelon and a salty almond note. Straightforward but thoroughly enjoyable.

I like the intensity of the smoked BBQ and greenish peat notes. Big nose and long finish. Not as clean and complete as the Ardbeg 10, but it’s a nice variation and a great buy.

Straight-ahead textbook bourbon, with a nose of hickory and honey, a palate of caramel and sharp fruit (peach?, apricot?), and a mid-length finish of cotton and nut. A pleasant unexotic everyday drinker. And the 57% ABV helps justify the higher-end price tag.