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]