Ardbeg, you continue to impress the hell out of me. Still my top favorite peated Scotch distillery. This expression of their single malts is just as amazing as the rest. However, it is the most different of all I have tasted thus far. Nose: heavy smoke and peat. Black pepper and brine dominate next. A sweet vegetal note is there. Somewhere between seaweed and collard greens. At the end there is a refreshing mint sent that I can’t quite grasp. Not spearmint, but somewhere between peppermint and menthol. Taste: immediate butter scotch malt flavor that is almost immediately overtaken by smoke and strong peat. A strong dose of black pepper dominates the mid pallet followed by what I can only explain as salted prime rib, or corned beef. The finish is strange but nice. I almost get an almond nuttiness, and the taste of salt water spray you get from being at the beach on a windy day. I was a little thrown off by this one. Once I knew it was aged in sherry casks and finished in French oak casks, I expected it to be sweeter and honey dominate. Instead it’s probably the richest/most savory Ardbeg expression I’ve had to date. Very, very well done.