ABV: 46 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a warm mix of vanilla, oak, honey, unscented lotion and a heavy peatiness. It’s a mix of medicinal notes as well as a warm campfire smoke. Underneath the smoke there’s a mixed fruitiness which is hard to pick apart. Everything seems to be surrounded by a thin floral heathery layer. There’s also sweet minty freshness on top. This is a very good nose. It feels very much like a modern Ardbeg.

Mouth: It starts out with a quite bitter backdrop and a medicinal, very peaty, center. Everything is surrounded by oak and vanilla. After a while dark chocolate, tobacco and a tiny hint of fruits assemble and balances out the peatiness. There’s way less sweetness in taste compared to on the nose. There’s also a slightly damp note which isn’t all that great. The spicyness is slowly increasing in intensity and gives it a nice presence yet it could have used a slightly higher ABV.

Finish: The transition sees the background notes shine with the dark chocolate bitterness and a now slightly darker fruitiness. The oakiness is soon to follow together with vanilla, medicinal peat and nuttiness. It’s walnuts mainly. The damp note is still present unfortunatly. The oakiness is very tangible and the palate quickly dries out. This is a very good whisky. It’s not the best Ardbeg out there but it does its job competently.

Additional information
This whisky was released on Ardbeg Day 2024. It was aged in ex-bourbon barrels and ex-port wine casks. This is a limited Fèis Ile release. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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