I’m excited. After suffering at the hands of boredom with an extended run of Starwards I’m pleased to have something dark and wintery to carry me through the next few weeks of horrible Perth winter. I hope Islay and Ardbeg don’t let me down. Starting out with a throw back to March 19th 2022, my first and only Ardbeg and Distiller taste #16. N: Lightly oily and powerfully phenolic this cuts to the chase. Lemon, furniture wax, a sea breeze, a sharp spice note and delicate perfume like smoke. Rather than being dark and brooding (which I had expected) this is fresh and quite bright. P: Big, bold, smoke with beautiful oiliness. More lemon brings acidity and surprising sweetness. Some richer textures and flavours from a vanilla toffee or caramel, strong black tea, anise. The smoke is vaguely herbal with a little brine and hot tar. Everything works so well; brightness and acidity, soft rich textures, sweetness, a little bitterness… its all here. F: Long. A little darker now, like clouds rolling in over the coast. Salty smoke, bitter lemon, and a slight vanilla sweetness holding off a little bit of obtrusive heat. Powerful and delicate in equal measure. There is a generous volume of flavour carefully delivered with poise and a delicate touch. There is little to say here as I am thinking this should rate as a whisky to try before you die. The value for money is exceptional. What a wonderful dram for a 10 year old standard offering, and what I hope is a good omen for the next five drams to come. *** March 19th 2022 - 4/5 N: fresh, cut grass, crisp, gentlest smoke, slightly briny. P: powerful but refined smoke, herbaceous, citrus. F: fresh smoke, salty brine, creamy vanilla Distiller whisky taste #16 [Pictured here with an interesting piece showing cockscomb barytes crystallised ontop of finely crystalline galena (lead sulphide) on top of a Carboniferous limestone host. This piece is from Bridgwater in Somerset, England. The baryte (A barium sulphate) contains impurities of iron oxide colouring it a lovely burnt orange. During WWII baryte was sought highly for its use in making munitions (barium is a very dense metal), nowadays it is mainly used in oil and gas drilling to counter well pressures and blow outs. I think all this heavy metal is a fitting for an introduction to Ardbeg.] Ardbeg running scores: Ardbeg 10: 4.25/5