It’s time for a rare, 2014 Feis Ile festival sample from Ardbeg: Auriverdes. This release was designed to honor the 2014 Men’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The colors of the Brazilian flag are green and gold and that’s how this whisky is named. Auri (gold) and verdes (green) also tie-in to the golden color of the whisky and the iconic, green bottle. The only thing done to the whisky itself is that the end caps of the casks were toasted to impart a more charred flavor into the NAS whisky. It’s bottled at 49.9% ABV and is NCF with no added colorant. It’s a deep, golden yellow in the glass with thin, undefined legs and tiny droplets. The nose is primarily smoked brisket, oak spirals and fire pit smoke. The secondary flavors are slightly minty, eucalyptus leaves and some lemon zest that’s traditionally associated with Ardbeg. They aren’t reinventing the wheel with this release at all. The palate is both campfire smoke and earthy peat and there’s a faint sherry sweetness and vanilla note arriving at mid sip. The youthful spirit powers the backend, while being oily and warming. The mouthfeel is on the lighter side and turns dry towards the finish. Speaking of finish, it’s medium length with a very light sweetness and smoke. Earthy minerals linger and turn the final bits a tad bitter and harsh. It doesn’t turn the experience bad, but it also doesn’t help matters either. As a festival release, I was slightly disappointed. There no real experimentation going on here. Bottles have all but disappeared from store shelves and you’ll have to head to an auction site to find one now. Prices have remained steady with this one- $80-100 a bottle should win you one, but I’m not sure it’s worth that price, honestly. Stick with the 10yo or the An Oa for $20-30 less. Thanks to my buddy @Telex, from Maryland, for this sample pour. I have a couple bottles of this, as I’ve put together a few Ardbeg Feis Ile sets, but I see no reason to open them. They are moderately collectible, so that’s how I’ll keep them. 3.5-3.75 stars. Cheers.