My Ardbeg 10 review

[tuddy24]

Hi Everyone,

So I ended up fetching the Ardbeg 10 and wanted to give my general impressions of it. Once again I popped the cork, poured a dram, let it sit for 10 minutes and this is what i got.

color:
Pale straw. I love Islay so far, so little on the surface yet so much is there waiting to dazzle.

nose:
contrary to almost everything I've heard and read about this Scotch, I pick up vanilla, sherry, and orange zest on the nose. There is the faintest amount of peat and smoke intermingling with the above 3. Very nice indeed.

palate:
A medium body with a wonderful interplay of peat, smoke, subtle sweet sherry, raisin, and orange flavor. I was expecting this to be a peat smoke monster but a monster it is not, this has a really well balanced and focused flavor profile. It's less acidic than the Caol Ila 12 and more even tempered with a lot more flavor development. It's smoother too, even though it's bottled at a higher ABV. With the tough military green box I was expecting something a bit uncouth yet massively flavorful but am pleased to find that it is complex and well mannered. I'm lucky this month!

finish:
An interesting finish, the mouth goes dry and all the flavors are left resting right in the center of the tongue while a sea-weedy/smoky finish develops. And is that mint? So much going on here, I'll have to revisit again on another day.

Once again, I thank you all for your comments and suggestions, they are much appreciated. Keep them coming!

-Pete

[pkt77242]

Nice notes Pete.

Looking forward to the next one (maybe Laga 16 or Laga 12 CS).

[The Third Dram]

So much going on here, I'll have to revisit again on another day.

Don't you just love this aspect of the whisky?

This is one I ALWAYS try to maintain sufficient stocks of in the cabinet.

[Megawatt]

I too was surprised by the well-mannered citrus and other sweet flavours of this malt. It is peaty for sure but balanced as you noted. Too bad it is $99 in Ontario.

[tuddy24]

Nice notes Pete.

Looking forward to the next one (maybe Laga 16 or Laga 12 CS).

Lagavulin...hint hint? I've been leaning toward trying the 16 but I've heard in a few places that it just isn't what it used to be due to high demand. That's really the only thing that scares me. The 12 on the other hand has been raved about everywhere I look. If, or when, I get a Lagavulin I'm pretty sure it will be the 12. Thanks pkt77242

-Pete

[tuddy24]

So much going on here, I'll have to revisit again on another day.

Don't you just love this aspect of the whisky?

This is one I ALWAYS try to maintain sufficient stocks of in the cabinet.

You're right, I love the "even-ness" of this whisky. When not a single thing sticks out you can see everything else much more clearly. It's like high end audio, the speakers that I love the most are the ones that don't have a clear line between bass, midrange, and treble, the music is cut from a single sonic cloth. The Ardbeg 10 is sort of like my B&W 705's. They're not big and meaty but draw you in!

[Ardbeg311]

Nice notes Pete.

Looking forward to the next one (maybe Laga 16 or Laga 12 CS).

Lagavulin...hint hint? I've been leaning toward trying the 16 but I've heard in a few places that it just isn't what it used to be due to high demand. That's really the only thing that scares me. The 12 on the other hand has been raved about everywhere I look. If, or when, I get a Lagavulin I'm pretty sure it will be the 12. Thanks pkt77242

-Pete

I too am one that prefers the 12 over the 16, but I almost always prefer, like many here, cask strength versions over the non-CS. Perhaps an argument could be made, however, that an aquaintance with Lagavulin should begin with the 16. I find it much more subtle and, at times, more flavorful than the 12 which can be simply an enjoyable peaty punch in the head.

It's interesting that you heard the 16yo "isn't what it used to be?" Do you remember to what edition this newer version was being compared? I have found the bottles to be consistently good since 2003 with no drop off in quality.

Cheers

[tommygbyrne]

Corked?

I'm an big fan of Islay malts, my dram of choice is Laphroaig 10. I've just open a bottle of Ardbeg Ten. It kinda strangely popped like a champagne bottle. It's been 6 months untill I had Ardbeg, so my memories are not very clear... The overall impressions were good, but I felt it lacked something...it's true essence. Does anyone think the cork has to do something with this?


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