Ardbeg Lord of the isles 25 yr old

[ardbug]

Ardbeg Lord of the Isles 25 yrs
A new batch has arrived in Australia of this expression of Ardbeg.
Has anybody, ( not just in Australia ) tasted the recent bottlings? I am not sure how the Whisky mag scores the malts but it shows three different scores for this malt on the whiskies of the world ratings , with the last being issue 50 by Dave Broom and Martine Nouet both giving it 3.5 ? but the discription does not match the the score ? Is this the same bottling ? it states:Lord of the Isles, but with no mention of 25 years as per the other tasting reports.
Previous issues score it at 9.0 and 8.5 ( issue 21 and issue 38 )

Can someone help as I am pretty keen to grab a few bottles of this old Ardbeg while I still can ( There is nothing else available in Australia, and i have had to get previous older bottles from oversea's via eBay or the Whisky Exchange, Loch Fyne etc,) All over seas transactions have been great so far and I can recommend The Whisky Exchange and Loch Fyne to all overseas buyers, but the extra cost of international postage to Australia pushes up the price.

Any help would be great

[corbuso]

Ardbeg Lord of the Isles 25 yrs
A new batch has arrived in Australia of this expression of Ardbeg.
Has anybody, ( not just in Australia ) tasted the recent bottlings? I am not sure how the Whisky mag scores the malts but it shows three different scores for this malt on the whiskies of the world ratings , with the last being issue 50 by Dave Broom and Martine Nouet both giving it 3.5 ? but the discription does not match the the score ? Is this the same bottling ? it states:Lord of the Isles, but with no mention of 25 years as per the other tasting reports.
Previous issues score it at 9.0 and 8.5 ( issue 21 and issue 38 )

Can someone help as I am pretty keen to grab a few bottles of this old Ardbeg while I still can ( There is nothing else available in Australia, and i have had to get previous older bottles from oversea's via eBay or the Whisky Exchange, Loch Fyne etc,) All over seas transactions have been great so far and I can recommend The Whisky Exchange and Loch Fyne to all overseas buyers, but the extra cost of international postage to Australia pushes up the price.

Any help would be great

In one article, whiskymag rated the peatiness of different whiskies on a scale up to 5 and the Lord of Isles scored 3.5.

The lord of the Isles is not the most pungent and peaty Ardbeg, but it is a fine good and smooth dram, definitely worth a try. I think that the appreciation of the Lord of the Isles has been quite extensively discussed in previous posts.

Corbuso
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[Di Blasi]

It's great, but weird at first. One of those whiskies you just don't quite get at first, but of course want to, being an "ardbug!!" When you say new batch, I wonder if this applies just to Australia, finally getting what we have already gotten, or since Ardbeg is #1 there, if it means they've received their very own new batch, meaning we're probably all interested too!!

[Deactivated Member]

An "in yer face" Ardbeg it is not - but what it definitely is, is a complex, sophisticated and well-aged look into the soul of Ardbeg. Its got a lot of layered flavours which are all work well together integrated.

Takes a tad for the realization 'Blimey, this stuff is absolutely amazing!' to reach the brain. Undoubtedly one of the best expressions I've tasted.

A word of warning - if you do want your Ardbeg's in the 'in yer face' style of very young, or even the standard 10yo, this will take a while to get used to, and may prove not to be your favorite tipple.

Don't get me wrong, it isn't weak - its just softly rounded, dancing around the palate. In martial arts terms, its like comparing Wing Chun or one of the other original Chinese, softer, more circular styles to something like Shotokan or Kyokushin-kai karate.

[ardbug]

Thanks for the help guys,
Unfortunatly i didnt subscribe to Whisky mag untill issue 55, so I have not viewed the tasting where it scored 3.5. It makes more sense when you say it may have been a scale of the peat level out of 5, because as i said, the tasting notes all sound very postive.

Whilst I love my peaty beasts, I also enjoy all good whisky, and trying diifferent expressions from a distillery. I believe in different whiskies for different times and moods, and I suppose this is what has drawn us to this wonderful world of single malt.
I was expecting some finesse from the Lord of the Isles, and by the sound of it , thats what it has. I'll let you know my thoughts when i've sampled my now comitted purchases.
Bottlings like this are rare in Australia now, so you have to grab what you can while you can. When i say a new batch, it realy means a new shipment I suppose. Malts tend to come in waves, all of a sudden there is lots of Ardbeg. Laphraoig etc.. on the shelves, and it slowly dissappears. Hopefully we will get the new 16 yr old Airigh nam beist, although i have already ordered some from The Whisky Exchange to make sure I dont miss out.

Does any body know if Airigh nam beist is going to become a standard expression for some time? or will it dissappear like the 17 yr old

thanks for now Ardbug

[irishwhiskeychaser]

........
Bottlings like this are rare in Australia now, so you have to grab what you can while you can. When i say a new batch, it realy means a new shipment I suppose. Malts tend to come in waves, all of a sudden there is lots of Ardbeg. Laphraoig etc.. on the shelves, and it slowly dissappears. .......

See what ye need to do down under is get your suppliers to order half way through the clearence of stock ....... then by the time it is depleted the next order has arrived from the waves

That is probably why your only getting Lord of the Isles now .... do you realise how long it takes a steam ship to get to Australia

[Admiral]

Hi Ardbug,

If you're going to track down and try and purchase an old Ardbeg, my advice would be to skip the Lord of the Isles and try and get a 1977.

The Lord of the Isles is a nice whisky, and a nice Ardbeg, but it is a little restrained. If you're going to spend that much money, it's worth the extra $50 or whatever to try and get the 1977, which is universally acknowledged as being considerably superior to the Lord of the Isles.

The Australian shops had Lord of the Isles retailing for around $320 to $350, and - quite frankly - it simply isn't worth it at that price.

I have been involved with several Ardbeg tastings where we've compared aged and expensive bottlings of Ardbeg, e.g. the LOTI, the 1977, a G+M Ardbeg from 1975, and two different Committee Reserve bottlings that were both over 21 years old. The LOTI was probably the weakest of the line up.

Cheers,
AD

[Deactivated Member]

I've had two bottles of LOTI and I'm afraid I have to concur.

[Admiral]

Why be afraid, Mr T?

[Deactivated Member]

Because I bought the second one!

[ardbug]

Hi Admiral,

Ive got a 1977 in my collection but are yet to open it, was very hard to get here as you may know ( but it did cost me less than the Lord of the Isles )I,m currently looking across the globe for another 1977 or two so i can open one.
Or it will have till wait a few years till my 40th birthday, when im planning an arbeg tasting with a few good friends.
I am trying to get my hands on some of the Old Malt Casks from the early 70,s, but ebay prices are getting out of control
What was the 75 G&M, Like ? and has any one tried thier 90's bottlings ?

Cheers Ardbug

[Deactivated Member]

I've been reading all these people's comments about Ardbeg Lord of the Isles being so weak and so on. Obviously its a case of what each individual enjoys: I have seen that in general most Ardbeg fans seem to split into two different 'schools' of thought.

One loves the extremity, the 'in-yer-face' Ardbegs that literally exlode on the palate. The favorites of this school are 1977, 10yo, all the 'young & restless' releases etc.

The second group finds that most of such Ardbeg releases are too single-note and overwhelming, lacking the complexity of a good whisky. Still they do love Ardbeg, but their personal favorites are the 17yo, some G&M releases, and yes, the Lord of the Isles. These bottlings are less aggressive, but often display in a more subdued way an astonishing multitude of layered complexity in flavours.

Personally I enjoy both styles.

[Reggaeblues]

MRJ, I second that. However, my BIAS is towards the 'in-yer-face'. and granted that the 1977 is exceptional, and full of surprises(like the 10 YO initially, but softer and with added layers...and then more added layers) i don't find the 10 YO lacking in complexity...

it always surprises me that for an easily available, and very affordable OB, it manages to be both 'in-yer-face' and vanilla sweet( and more)...and no matter what I've been drinking previously, it's nose is immediately distinctive, even among islays...and even with only the tiniest dram in the glass...

My staple!

[Jan]

You could be right MRJ - personally I enjoy A17 much more than A10 - and I loved the LOTI, when I tried it a couple of years back.