Ardbeg 21 Year

What better occasion for finally opening this bottle than my father's 80th birthday, for which I gave him this plus two other bottles that totaled four score years in age. It's a fascinating spin on an Ardbeg, with a light straw color and a floral nose that hints at jasmine on this warm spring night in London. There's a burst of citrusy flavors on the first sip that blossoms into an extraordinarly gusty amount of umami smoke and pepper that belies its age. A grilled mushroom taste lingers for as long as you can wait between sips, amid an abundance of moisture-draining tannins. Interesting more than essential and questionable value at the price, but a worthy reference point for fans of the distillery. For the record, I packaged this with a 50-year-old blend from That Boutiquey Whisky Company and a Bowmore 9 for a gift amounting to 80 years of exceptional malt. There will be many happy returns.

This Ardbeg is 46% ABV, non chill filtered and a natural color of golden straw. The story behind this bottling is a little interesting. Ardbeg sold 270 casks to Chivas Brothers to be used for blending. The casks sat in a warehouse for the better part of two decades and were never used. The current manager at Ardbeg, who was a distiller at Ardbeg at the time the whisky was made, bought the casks back. They only used half of the casks to make this 21 year old, so there is another 135 casks to use down the road for a 25, 30, or older bottling. There is an initial blast of wonderful peat smoke on the nose, but I think that's because I didn't give it enough time to breathe. Earthy and vegetal with notes of old leather. It quickly evolves into vanilla custard and butter cream, very nice indeed. There are some fruits in the background but more exotic ones, possibly mango and coconut. Very refined for an Ardbeg. The palate is soft, again, for an Ardbeg. Some wood spices, oak and vanilla. Earthy peat with a little pepper. Slight hint of lemon zest. There is a little bitterness but it's not unpleasant, and smoky of course. The mouthfeel is lovely. Very oily and mouthwatering. Initially it's also very creamy. This diminishes the more you drink, but the oiliness stays. The finish is long and oily, smoky and a little peppery. Given that these casks were intended to be used in a blend, it's safe to say that they were not the best quality and probably not first fill. Most likely 2nd or maybe 3rd fill and not the best wood. The good stuff would have stayed at Ardbeg. I would think that if first fill casks were used there would have been a greater intensity to this scotch. I'm not saying that this is a bad offering in any way, because it's wonderful, just that it seems like it could have been something greater. Maybe it should have been bottled at cask strength. I'm ignoring the price point because it's hard to say any alcohol is worth $500 for one bottle. The price point is what it is because of the limited quantity available and the fact that it's Ardbeg. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2oz. I was able to try of this very rare whisky. I want to give this a full 4.5, but I think 4.25 is more accurate. Cheers