ABV: 58.6 %
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 mineral heavy peatiness with notes of a burning campfire. Underneath lies vanilla, raisins and oak and the whole feels quite hard and unapologetic. When it settles in the glass an unscented lotion note pops up in the center and it really has the Ardbeg character coming through. Honey and black liquorice arrive as well. The peat slowly shifts towards coastal notes with a mix of tar and seaweed. This is a great nose with all the boxes ticked for the peat lover.

Mouth: It starts out with a heavy mix of ashy peat and ABV spicyness. Immidiately a bitterness starts to build up in the back with dark chocolate, raisins and espresso. It’s still rich with minerals and it’s not as sweet as on the nose, but vanilla, liquorice and a bit of honey are still there. The cask influence is more pronounced now with a very mature character overall. The tar and seaweed return after a while together with dry garden soil.

Finish: The transition starts with a surge of raisins, dark chocolate and espresso in the back before the High ABV spicyness and the mineral heavy peat once again come rushing in. After a while it becomes very spicy and it has a lot of power to back up all the flavours. When it starts to fade the unscented lotion note and vanilla return and the finish is extremely long with all the flavours intact. The oakiness sneaks up through the peatiness and it’s almost a surspise when it takes over. It’s not the most characterful oak, but it sits nicely together with the lingering peat notes. This is a great whisky. It’s most certainly not an easy access experience but for the whisky explorer it gives a very nice time indeed.

Additional information
This whisky was first aged for at least 15 years in a second fill ex-Oloroso sherry butt. The bottle tried is 526/590. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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