ABV: 46 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a very oaky campfire smoke with a big spoonful of vanilla. It’s sweet and honeyed, but it also comes through as quite mineral rich and has a medicinal character which really isn’t normal for the Ardbeg house style. There’s iodine, a hint of stone and liquorice as well. Underneath there’s a mix of apples and brine. In between it’s sligtly floral as well. This is a great nose with a very interesting character. It’s very fun to explore and has some real complexity to it.

Mouth: It starts out with a big honey sweetness and a nice spicyness. Inside the sweetness is a mix of smoked meat, sea salt and malt. The peatiness is still strong and seem to push a bit of the heavy oak away. It’s mineral rich and medicinal in taste as well. There are notes of liquorice and vanilla but the longer into the journey, the oakier it gets. It doesn’t take long before it becomes slightly unpleasant in the mouth.

Finish: The finish starts out with a whiff of coastal notes, malt and an umami note in the back. There’s also fruity and floral notes floating by. It’s at this point very nice but it doesn’t take long before the oakiness once again takes over. The longer the finish goes the oakier it gets and it’s not an especially interesting oakiness. This is a very good whisky with a very interesting nose. It becomes slightly over-oaked as the journey progresses.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in mix of ex-bourbon barrels and Black sea oak casks from russia. This is the retail release. A higher ABV Committee release also exists. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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