Ardbeg Auriverdes

On May 31, 2014, for Ardbeg Day; and, commemorating the World Cup in Brazil that started one day later, Ardbeg released a special edition called "Auriverdes" representing of course the "Scratch du oro" (Brazil's football team) but also the bottles of this famous distillery, which are green and their whisky is gold. Right off the bat you feel the aromatic profile of Ardbeg peat, but tamed. Moss, pineapple all over, grapefruit and cigarettes. Smells like a farm pond; the peat comes and goes intertwining with the citrus and tropical aromas. BBQ sauce, bacon, ashtray, lemon and lime. Super complex, if you move the Glencairn it changes. White wine. After the first sip, it gave me 2 totally new tasting notes for me: old stamps and old wet paint, the kind that falls off when the wall is damp. The palate is fruity, currants and grapefruit. Very smooth, feels like the peat is background in a fireplace, but not invasive. Vanilla. Aftertaste follows the same path: cigarettes, tobacco, pepper, grilled grain salt, very sulfuric. Burnt hay, pepper and ashtray. Overall, this is a tremendous whisky, because of the interesting tasting notes, specially on the nose. Being a terrible soccer fan and Brazil 2014 World Cup lover, I was dying to try it. My score for this great single malt is 90 out of 100.

Peat. Loved or hated. For those who love it, Ardbeg may be the standard of peated scotches. Their core/standard range of scotches are benchmarks, measures as to the quality of a peated scotch. Thanks to @Telex for offering this sample, from way back when. As it rests and opens, images of a chilled autumn beach days comes to mind. Cedar wraps containing bacon, smoked with spearmint notes waft with a maritime brine. Not dense in peat. Rich. Dark honey, dark roast coffee and dark chocolate shavings with an earthiness. A slick texture with sweetness and earth. Sherry with dark chocolate, lemon citrus, charcoal. There is a youthful spiciness that doesn’t appear until late towards the beginning of the finish with cracked black pepper and ground cinnamon. A long lasting finish with the spicy tingle slowly fading into charcoal, tobacco, oak and the associated drying tannins. This is an Ardbeg-lite. The normally strong peat and earth are diluted, comparatively to, say, the 10 year. It’s enjoyable though the lack of maturity has deprived the dram of more potential flavors. In fairness, it’s a solid dram but is outshined by the core three. It will appeal; enjoyable, youthful but lacks a bit comparatively to its siblings. [87/100][Tasted: 2/13/21]

I can smell this from across the room. Taste is what I’ve come to expect from Ardbeg. Oily, heavy peat that doesn’t over power. Hints of pepper and smoke. Tingles on the lips, very smooth. I’d drink this every night if I could find it regularly.

Uncorking. Very excited to find this bottle. Light gold color. Much lighter than most Ardbeg with a mild nose, salty breeze, very sweet and gentle smokey meat & peat. Nose all in the glass and no burning nostrils despite 49.9abv. Taste is salty/briny as anything I have had. Lots of sweet vanilla, coffee and toasted sugars. Surprisingly subtle for Ardbeg. Then fades into dark chocolate and coffee on the finish with a bit more of the salt and smoke. The reviews are mixed on this one but I would go buy another bottle right now if they had one at the $149.99 U.S. I paid.

Sequestered brine, seaweed, and faint tar notes join ginger cookies, sardines, and fresh lemon zest in a distinctly Ardbeg nose. The ocean is more evident here than in other releases: kippers, salmon, saltines, and a bit of kale are in the palate, although not without honeycomb, faint vanilla, and grassy herbs. The finish comes in with a big campfire smoke, white pepper, and a whiff of mocha. The finish is medium, without the viscous resiny character of other Ardbegs. Semisweet and a step down from the peat punch most Ardbeg enthusiasts would expect (although still a peat lover's dram), it's definitely a great sipper. However, it also represents Ardbeg playing it safe. Might it have had at least one muscle to flex?