Ardbeg Kelpie

The lemon and lime fruitiness of the 10Y is missing here. Instead, there's a distinct herbal note and the notes of salt and smoked meat are more noticeable. Delicious.

Intense smoke and salt. After taste of creosote. Oily and rich.

Sweet, soft. Distinct Ardbeg.

Ardbeg Embassy, Gamla Stan, Stockholm: Not sure it was a good idea to try the Ardbeg Kelpie as my first Ardbeg, but oh well. When I lived in Aberdeen I had a Greek friend who loved Turkish tobacco. Now, I don't smoke, but the lovely sweet smell of the Turkish tobacco definitely made me think about smoking. My first impression of this offering from Ardbeg took me back to those days in the pub in Aberdeen with my Greek buddy. Let me just say from nose to finish this was a fantastic whisky. Not only was there lovely peat smoke, but it was just the perfect amount, and so similar to Turkish tobacco. The palate is balanced to perfection, with lovely cardemum, pepper and a hint of allspice. Add some water and lemon comes rushing out. The finish lingers like the smoke from a Turkish cigarette, swirling around and around, just beckoning you to take the next sip, like a siren calling you in a tale from ancient Greece. Problem is I need to buy a bottle of this now, seriously need one, and in Sweden that means shelling out 999 SEK ($125 USD), definitely not over priced, IMHO

It must be so hard being the creative distillery brains at Ardbeg. How do you beat their standard flag bearers like Uigi, Corry, and 10? There's really not much at a reasonable price point that can beat those three. You need to dig deep deep into your pockets to even come just marginally better. That's the issue here with Kelpie. It's good. Better than many other whiskies at this price point. The new wood does it wonders; marriage of peat and that unique Black Sea wood works. But...would I buy this again? No...I'd rather just stick with the Uigi, Corry, or 10. It's really good to try it, and I feel as if I certainly didn't waste my money (which can't be said for over 50% of these one off whiskies...I feel as if I'm funding a charity science lab). Really worthwhile to try once, but can't beat the standards.