substitute for Ardbeg 17 y.o.

[johnlin9]

I've recently ran out of Ardbeg 17s and i hear they don't make them anymore, so I was wondering if there's a closer substitute for this awesome Islay? Someone suggested me Talisker 18yr, and the Bowmore Darkest....I havent tried either, so give me some feedbacks if you're had argbeg 17, thanks a lot!

[BruceCrichton]

I've had Ardbeg 17.

Get the current 10 year old and the Uigeadail and see how Uigeadail changes with water.

I've not had the new Laphroaig Quarter cask and the 15 year old Laphroiag but they could be worth a try.

Auld Reekie from Duncan Taylor and sons is worth £25 of anyone's money.

A smoky speysider is Ardmore which is worth trying and is mostly available from independent bottlers.

There is a vatted malt called Carme, available from the Creative Whisky Company, which is both smoky and has toffee notes.

[rthomson]

Ardbeg has some bottles of their 17yo currently available for purchase on their website. They don't ship to the U.S. or Canada so if you live in either this isn't a viable option. Also, apparently it's a very limited supply so it might not be available for long.

Ron

[Admiral]

Ardbeg 17 is much less peated than other more typical Ardbegs.

In order to find something similar, you would need to look at other whiskies from Islay that had similarly lowered peat levels.

I would suggest either Bowmore 12 or Bowmore 15.

Do NOT try Bowmore Darkest....it has a lot of sherry influence, and is no substitute for Ardbeg 17.

Cheers,
Admiral

[BruceCrichton]

The best Bowmore, for punch, is the 'Legend'. It is mostly bourbon casked matured and quite fresh and crisp.

I don't rate the 12, which tries to be all things to all men, and I've not had the 15.

The 17 year old is the best balanced of the older Bowmores and has the taste of a fresh roast beef sandwich on the palate, a taste I find irresistable.

[Tom]

Hello Johnlin, welcome to the forum
(is it the winter approaching or are there many new members here? at any rate this is a good thing! the more the better)

What you ask is quite hard, Ardbeg 17 is special and pretty much unique in flavor profile. There are a few whiskies that popped up as RELATIVELY close to its profile, but none is as close as say Macallan 10 CS with Glenfarclas 105. Therefore, the best suggestion is to order more at the Ardbeg site right now cause they will be gone very fast.

Ok, these are the ones that came out closest to the 17.
Ardbeg 1977 (again... I know) -more rounded and balanced, slightly more clean and dry peat. More dry and less sweet then the 17-
Ardbeg 1990 9Y OMC -Less sweetness and more malty with more oak and feints.-
Ardbeg 1994 SMWS 33.51 -More peat, more oak, more estery/fruity and less feints and body.-
Ardbeg Committee reserve 2002 -More peat, more honey, more oak, less salty/medicinal, less feinty, less nutty/oily.-

This may be of not much use because most of this is either hard(er) to find or expencive, I know but then again the Ardbeg 17 is a class on its own.

A last suggestion perhaps, not quite the same league as the 17, but Bruichladdich 3D peat proposal (first edition 3D) and Benriach Curiositas 46% just might do the trick for you too. Both are quite balanced and sweetish with enough peat to keep you interested, just a thought.

[hpulley]

I've heard the Ardbeg Kildalton committee bottling is quite similar to(but better than) the 17yo. I loved the 17yo as well, and do miss it some.

Uigeadail is a bit lighter than the TEN for peat and is sweeter so in some ways it might even some like a stonger version of the 17yo. If you haven't tried Uigeadail, please do! I definitely prefer it to the 10yo at the moment.

Lagavulin 16yo is another one of similar age. It is not the same as Ardbeg 17yo really as they have completely different peating levels but they are late teenaged islays so there are some points for comparison.

Harry

[BruceCrichton]

Another good couple of heavies are Springbank and Longrow, both from the same distillery.

Both are 46% abv and unchillfiltered. Longrow is very heavily peated and Springbank is a very robust whisky.

[hpulley]

With all due respect, I don't think Talisker 18, Bowmore Darkest or any Springbank or Longrow will compare to Ardbeg 17. The Talisker, Springbank and Longrow will be spicier, something not found in the Ardbeg, and Bowmore Darkest is quite different (used to be in a very good way much peatier and with nice sherry tones but lately it is quite floral which again is not like Ardbeg).

Harry

[corbuso]

The Ardbeg 17 is again on sale for £50 at the Kiln Shop in the Ardbeg website (http://www.ardbeg.com), as well as the Ardbeg 1977.
At the beginning of the week, they also had 2 bottles of Kildalton, Provenance and 30 YO on stock

regards

[Deactivated Member]

I have just bought the Kildalton - sorry. All the other special bottlings have gone, but the 1977 and 17yo are still available on the website. There were bottles of the 1976s when they first put details on the website but they went on the first day (2 November).

[Frodo]

For comparable peating levels, I'd say Clynelish 14 or something like an IB Caol Ila (ie Signatory Vintages). If buying an IB, make sure it's from a bourbon cask as this would be closest to the Ardbeg 17.

[Deactivated Member]

Well, just to be contrary...nothing is a good substitute for anything. They're all different. That's the point! Sad to lose an old friend, but it happens all the time. Be glad you had the chance to enjoy it when you did, and go enjoy something else!

[Frodo]

Won't have to. Have 2x 17yr old Ardies in my closet!

[PeatPirate]

Hi all,

I've opened a Ardbeg 17Y from my private stock last week (3 left ) It's a very nice dram!! I think it's a style of it's own, so there's probably no malt that's 100% comparable.

But I also had some talisker 18Y for the first time on a Diageo tasting. I think that Talisker 18 is a reasonable alternative for the ardbeg 17. Both are aged, gentle and lightly peated.


BTW: there a two types of Ardbeg 17. One is Blended with a high percentage of Kildalton, the other one with other old Ardbegs. The last version is slightly more peated. But if we're talking about Ardbeg 17 it can occur that we are not talking bout the same dram

Grtz. PP