Ledaig you salty dog!
I don't mean it in a good way. I had a hard time with this dram.
The best of it is on the nose. A medium-light peat smoke and ocean spray are dominant and are supported by faint red wine notes and Orange Pekoe tea. There was also something that brought an image to mind of a shed of old farm machinery on my grandparents' farm. I couldn't put my finger on it until the third or fourth tasting - a not unpleasant creosote smell.
The palate holds some pear, grape skin, black pepper, lemon with cloves, paracetemol tablets and enough salt to pay a Roman legion. The finish was not one to beckon me back: a dry tannic aftertaste like putting a cold wet teabag on your tongue. And lingering salt like a french kiss from Lot's wife.
For me this was a real disappointment as I had high hopes and it is well rated. But to my tastes it's as salty as a swearing pirate and not one I would relish returning to.
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@Soba45 sorry to hear that and hope you make a quick recovery. The software must not be tuned to the kiwi accent - try plum, BBC British!
@1901 I'm using voice dictation due to tendonitis...fast but not as accurate!
@Soba45 ha! Figured as much. Online definition of ascetic is "abstention from all forms of indulgence"... not something normally linked with whiskey :)
@1901 And I meant acidic not ascetic!
@cascode Agree with your statement. I rather enjoyed this one. I purchased a bottle a few years ago, so I do wonder, now, @1901 if the quality has been diminished some or is it a bad batch or user experience differences.
@Soba45 interesting to hear that. Maybe I might pick a sample up or try it at a bar to see if I like it better.
yeah I went back and forth on this one a bit. I really didn't like it then loved it then fell out of love again. I found the peat profile a bit ascetic , and I find that wine cask finishes really help round it out a bit and make it more enjoyable
@cascode can’t say that I have tried either of those. Sounds like you have your palate well trained for this salt bomb :)
@Richard-ModernDrinking go for it! I’d be curious to see what you think of it.
@1901 Ha! Do you like Dutch salt licorice? I love it and there’s always a packet in our house. Dried umeboshi salt plums too. So yeah, I have a palate for salt :)
@cascode It maybe just batch variations. I just revisited your review of it there now and see we shared some similar notes, but differed in our final appraisal. Maybe I need to work on my salt tolerance levels.
@1901 Interesting, great review and I agree with all your comments, but oddly I found the same profile appealing, but yes it is on the "edgy" side. Still, it's over a year since I last tasted it so maybe batch variation?
@1901 Yeh, Talisker and Pulteney are probably better examples. I’m almost even more curious to taste this now.
@Richard-ModernDrinking yes, I generally like a salty note or two as well. I prefer it to a sweet profile typically. I can't recall the saltiness of the (few) Ardbegs I have tasted, but I have liked the salty notes in Talisker, Arran, Old Pulteney, Scapa and some Jura I have tasted. The needle on the salt gauge is well into the red for this one, however.
How does it compare to other salty whiskies, say some of the Ardbegs? I generally like a salty note or two.