Bottled from incredibly rare casks filled during some of the Distillery’s darkest days, this is Ardbeg at its most intricate, balanced and beguiling.
Majestic aromas of smoked cream and earthy bonfires are masterfully interwoven with layers of pine and fragrant candle wax. Hot pepper rises on the palate, twisting around lemon sherbet sweetness, while hints of carbolic soap and tar flow into a long aftertaste characterised by delicate aniseed entwined with lingering cream and fudge.
Tasting Notes:
Colour: Bright Amber.
Aroma: A pungent burst of smoked cream, peppermint and toffee, with Ardbeg’s classic fennel and pine resin. Distant earthy bonfires mix with herbal and fruity (banana and tropical) notes, along with fragrant candle wax.
Taste: An extremely vibrant, hot peppery mouthfeel leads into a burst of sherbet lemon sweetness (candied apples, pears and orange), hints of carbolic soap and tar, more creamy toffee, aniseed and chilli pepper.
Finish: A long, mellow, lingering aftertaste, with lots of cream, fudge and delicate antiseptic notes. An elegant, soothing style of Ardbeg.
"Briny smoke integrates with sweet bakery aromas: vanilla, streusel, ginger-spiced pound cake, cinnamon, and allspice, studded with nuts and dried apple. With water, butterscotch oozes out. The palate's silky texture is an ideal base for warm vanilla, toasted nuts, toffee, and milk chocolate, swirling with iodine peat and gentle gingerbread spices. The finish is complex, compelling, and quite lengthy with ginger, white pepper, allspice, saline, coffee grounds, dried apple, and lingering smoke." - Susannah Skiver Barton
