Ardbeg 10 Year

Tasting Notes

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: orange and tangerine with French bakery notes and chewy peated malt; honeyed and fruity, some licorice and candied fennel emerge; then sweet smoke and salted caramel.

Palate: sweet, fruity and very smoky; the chewy peated malt dances with more salted caramel while the more delicate fruit notes are left at the edges of the room to watch; becomes peatier and earthier with the dark spices emerging on the second and third sip; coming in waves it softens and settles down becoming creamier and more fruity.

Finish: long, coating, salty and smoky; the malty notes linger as the palate dries with the fruits and caramel fading first.

Comment: the nose belies and understates the prominence of the peat and salt on the palate; this is a benchmark whisky that never disappoints; now if only we could see the return of an older incarnation!

Distillery's Tasting Note

Nose: A burst of intense smoky fruit escapes into the atmosphere – peat infused with zesty lemon and lime, wrapped in waxy dark chocolate. Bold menthol and black pepper slice through the sweet smoke followed by tarry ropes and graphite. As you dip your nose in further, savour the aroma of smoked fish and crispy bacon alongside green bell peppers, baked pineapple and pear juice.

Palate: An explosion of crackling peat sets off millions of flavour explosions on the tongue: peat effervesces with tangy lemon and lime juice, black pepper pops with sizzling cinnamon-spiced toffee. This is followed by a wave of brine infused with smooth buttermilk, ripe bananas and currants. Smoke gradually wells up on the palate bringing a mouthful of warm creamy cappuccino and toasted marshmallows. As the taste lengthens and deepens, dry espresso, liquorice root and tarry smoke develop coating the palate with chewy peat oils.

Finish: The finish goes on and on – long and smoky with tarry espresso, aniseed, toasted almonds and traces of soft barley and fresh pear.

Distillery

Evan here - I am not going to get into Ardbeg’s history or location or ownership too much. It is old, and it is on Islay. To say more is to preach to the choir for the most part. If you are keen to know more, just mispronounce the name as ‘Ardberg’ within the hearing of Andrew or Curt. You will quickly be corrected and then likely be given the chronological timeline of the distillery in question as well as a thorough essay on why it is perhaps the best distillery on Islay, if not in Scotland itself.

Anyhow. For a relatively small distillery, Ardbeg’s releases have become relatively prolific over the past few years. The distillery can boast about having the most rabid fan base in the world of Single Malt Scotch, and many of its releases correlate with this. Just about every limited edition bottle of Ardbeg is released to Ardbeg Committee Members first. Membership is free and allows you to find out when the next Ardbeg Limited Release is, well, released.

The core range of Ardbeg is strong. If you like you want a taste of what all of the fuss is about when it comes to Ardbeg, the regular Ardbeg 10-Year-Old is a great place to start. If you want a bottle that is a wee bit sweeter and goes in a few more directions when it comes to flavour profile, Ardbeg An Oa should suit you. The combination of peat Sherry is your thing? Then go for the Ardbeg Uigeadail. If you want the Ardbeg-ness of Ardbeg dialled up to 11, go for the Corryvreckan. And now, if you find yourself craving a release of Ardbeg that has an age statement, but you already have the Ardbeg 10, you can go for the Wee Beastie!