Slainte-Mhath
Ardbeg 10 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
October 14, 2016 (edited August 8, 2018)
Ardbeg seems to be 'the new Macallan' - being highly collectible, heavily marketed and more and more expensive due to its popularity. Nevertheless, it's a cracking good Islay peat bomb and of consistently high quality. On the nose, Ardbeg 10 is uniquely intense with phenolic peat smoke, briny seaweed and an underlying sweetness. The arrival is big, bolt and in your face! Intense peatiness masks sweet and spicy notes in the background, leading to a long, substantial and slightly dry finish. A truly outstanding malt with way too much fancy marketing.
RATING: 4.0/5.0 stars ≙ 88 pts → FIRST-CLASS
38.0
EUR
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
I thought the Kelpie and Dark Cove offerings were actually better than the core options. I have heard that the first wave of "specials" like Galileo and Blasda were not very special after all though.
I just don't get the concept of ' collecting' whisky. Seems too fickle of an investment. Better off putting money in Google with upward movement potential, or Pfizer with a 4% yield, than whisky. But...guess each to his own investment strategy
As long as collectors buy every special release there is, this is not likely to change. Who cares if these bottlings are not as good as Ardbeg Uigeadail?! Collectors rarely open their bottles... Ardbeg could even sell English breakfast tea in green bottles, and it would sell... as long as it has a gaelic name and fancy label ;-)
My issue with Ardbegs are their special releases. Those aren't as good as their core offerings (10, Corry, Uigi). Why have special releases that would be subpar to your core?