So, I finally got around to opening a bottle of this one for my amateur blending experiment. I figured I might as well give it a proper score. For those of you that may have read my impromptu review from Whiskyfest DC back in 2018 I have this update: This is a pretty damn good whisky. After my buddy @Telex and I sampled this during the Ardbeg seminar at the show, I was so wiped out by all the drams we sampled I just purely missed the nuances of this dram. The wine cask notes are present, even if briefly, before the heavy smoke and high ABV burn kick in. The wine cask finishing also provides a little color in the Glencairn and there’s a nice little, grape and berry hit from the cask. It’s quick, so you need to pay attention, but then the meaty and smoky Ardbeg goodness kicks in and washes the sweetness away. The finish is hot, as it should be with a Committee bottling, but the Ardbeg character carries through and leaves you smiling and glad you dropped the coinage. As it is, it’s a 4-4.25 star dram, and the Ardbeg fanboys should seek a bottle out while they are still floating around and possibly catching dust on some mom-n-pop liquor stores around the country. It’s good stuff and worthy of the CE designation. Cheers.