Sometimes, a roaring fire and a good book is all the company one needs. And sometimes you get that in a glass. Ardbeg 10 Year is a rich, warm, friendly spirit; grace and great conversation and the happy reunion two nights before the hibernal equinox in a bottle. Although it has that alluring, memory-inspiring Magic Marker nose, it lacks the overpowering peat of other Ardbeg offerings, replacing it with a classy conversation about peat ("Oh, was peat here? Yes, peat stopped by on the way to his lecture about the history of radio. He left you this little calling card"). More silky than oily, presenting a gorgeous, rich, almost milk chocolate sweetness and creaminess, this detours slightly around the peat-fog that characterizes most of Ardbeg's fine and fascinating offerings. A lightly exotic pleasure, with hints of pear, rum, and toffee, with the peat (mostly) emerging in the throat and an aftertaste that is warm and beautifully spiky in the top of the chest. My favorite Ardbeg offering so far, or at least the one that is the most mainstream, while still retaining the deep and distinctive character of the distillery.Although there is SO much going on here -- if it hits the right part of the tongue, it's a veritable world's fair of flavors, earthy, sweet, and spicy -- it remains almost indescribably smooth -- is this a whiskey, or a dream? -- it is a joy throughout, and with an oily kick that reveals itself only when it's far down the throat. Little hints of seaweed, hazelnut, cocoa and just a chalk outline of burnt cherry all serve the greater good and main intent: an Islay so smooth, so unargumentative yet full of intellect, that it will become one of your treasures.