It is time to review another special Ardbeg Release. This time a very popular, a little expensive (aren't they all these days) expression, the mythical 17 year old. This one was released in 1997, so the liquid inside was distilled at least in 1980, and the first "rarity" you can find here is that this distillery bottling is 40%abv, which is not typical for Ardbeg that is used to bottle their expressions at 46%abv, non chill-filthered. Gold color. On the nose, super different from other Ardbegs. Cotton candy, mint, flowers, heather, incense, aromatic peat and moss. After a couple of sips, it gave me a floral perfume with very tiny hints of chocolate. Hazelnut.ore sips gave me hand soap. Lovely aroma. On the palate, it is not too complex and i would never guess it is an Ardbeg in a blind tasting. Sugary water, salty water as well. Vanilla. That was it on the first sip. More sips gave me condensed milk and more sugary notes. It lost some intensity. Aftertaste was very good. Classic smoke, bbq sauce, bacon. Very long finish, very rewarding. Herbal. Grilled pork, salty. Overall, this was a very good single malt, that is very different for what i expected. I can't called it unbalanced, because the nose is fantastic, the palate is above average and the finish is great, but still feels like this is not the best Ardbeg out there. It really lost some points on the palate, and that affected the overall balance and the final score. Don't get me wrong, i would drink it any day, it is a great whisky, but i would never pay the 780 dollars that is nowaday's average price for it. My score is a well deserved 90 points over 100.