Long ago, i had the lovely chance to taste the famous Ardbeg Dark Cove Committee Release, which is a popular whisky because some enthuisasts have rated highly. This time i managed to get my hands on the "normal" release, matured in "Dark Sherry Casks" (apparently this is a made up term, i tried to find it but i couldn't) and was bottled at 46.5%abv. This was the special release for Ardbeg's Day 2016. It has a dark caramel color. On the nose, all the lovely horrible aroma notes we peat freaks cherish: a pair of cotton socks, iodine, tennis balls, a shoe box and.... passion fruit?; it smells exactly as a sports shop in a mall. After a couple of sips it gave me hints of chocolate and brownies. Letting it breath for a longer time game a fish market aroma and smoked salmon. Amazing. On the palate it is a mixture of sherry and peat. Plastic notes, earthiness, salt and Red fruot syrup. It has a pleasant pepper bomb. Strawberries are definitively a note here. Aftertaste was the best part. Starts with some burnt hay and cigarrettes, to then turn itself to a bonfire with dangerous fireworks. Gunpowder, and rubber. It is like chewing the head of those "He-Man" action figures from the 1980s. Quite the experience. Overall, this was a memorable dram right from the beggining till the end. The craziness of the peaty notes are well intertwined with the red fruitiness from the sherry casks. A beautiful single malt, my score for it is 93 over 100.