It's been years since I've had this, but I felt like revisiting it. First whiff when the cork pops is all peat and earth. After a few minutes in the glencairn it opens up and gets quite light and even a little buttery on the nose. On the tongue perhaps not as balanced as I remember, with the peat really singing loud and proud, with the char and smoke bullying the quieter sweet and buttery notes. On the palate I get what tastes like a bar of pitch black chocolate that spent a night in a campfire. The finish comes through with a surprising grassy brightness like the first blades of grass popping up after a brush fire burnt through an area. Particularly enjoying the lack of thick goopy sherry here.
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
Yeah I love Ardbeg but 10 definately my least favourite of the range...missing the richness and depth the others have
Agree re. Laphroaig 10 - superior IMHO. Ardbegs always feel like experiments to me. I'll just take cover now ...
Lee, don't get me wrong, there are some Ardbeg expressions I love, especially Uigeadail! I certainly wouldn't call myself a peathead, but I do appreciate it. Still, gun to my head I'd probably take a well crafted single barrel bourbon over a peaty dram if you were about to abandon me on a desert island!
I see the point you're nailing down. It's been awhile since I tried this one, but I remember it being a solid dram, it just didn't have the complexity I've come to expect from Ardbeg. I know it's only 10 (blah blah blah), it just seems like the 10 is the juice they use as the base to all their real 5 star NAS bottles. It's like even their master distiller feels it's subpar to their standards so they'd rather use it as a blend base. (j/k, aka my $0.02) Great review, sir. We peatheads are just shocked to see 3 "measly" stars awarded to a core Ardbeg, lol.
I'll give you that one lol
Paul I take your point, but I think Laphroaig 10 has WAY more balance to it than this does.
Mikael, I think you are missing the point with your analogy. The point being this, those of us peat heads that are buying and enjoying the likes of Ardbeg 10 or Laphroaig 10 or Ardmore tradition or any of the other YOUNG peated malts are buying it for the peaty smack in the face and not really the subtle nuances that we are looking for in a Highland Park or a Laphroaig 18 or even a Corryvreckan. Those are for the times you want to relax and pick apart your peated single malt. The young ones are for hanging out with your friends and having a good time without caring much about complexity. Nice review though
🤣
Hi Mikael, while you're trying to find the Stradivarius in Mozart's Concerto No. 5, I'm listening to the screeching tires of a Hemi Cuda laying down donuts and creating enough smoke to leave 100,000 people gasping for air. 😉
Rick, I think I left out my major critique which is that its high and low notes are both well established, with no middle. Ever listened to a well produced classic rock record through bad laptop speakers? You hear all the guitar solos, and they're well executed, but they sound aluminum. You hear all the complex bass lines but they're muddled. That's what this was like to me. Great pieces, hints of brilliant execution, but without a fullness to them. Also I have to admit that I'm a corn and wheat lover through and through, so scotch single malts need to give me an extra something to get me fully on board 😉👍
Certainly reads like 5 stars to me. :)