The Beast

[Drrich1965]

I opened my bottle of the 1990 Ardbeg, a few nights ago, and found it VERY closed. Has anyone else noticed this? Does it open up over time? It seems very unwilling to met reveal to me its secrets. Or perhaps just not Ardbeg's most comlpex or deep malt?

Thoughts?

Rich

[peergynt323]

Mine did open up over time, although I was not disappointed with the first dram.

[Deactivated Member]

I find if you rip off the foil strip and give the cap a good twist, it opens up quite nicely.

[kljostad]

I have experienced this with several whiskies. Some of them really need air. Have you tried giving it a bit of time on the glass before you drink it? Like half an hour to an hour?

During a recent whisky tasting, we found out that a lot of whikies change dramatically when it's allowed to breathe.

[les taylor]

My bottle is half full it's running bueatifully.

[bamber]

I find if you rip off the foil strip and give the cap a good twist, it opens up quite nicely.

[Ardbeg311]

I find if you rip off the foil strip and give the cap a good twist, it opens up quite nicely.

Wow, I bet Rich didn't see THAT one coming!

[Deactivated Member]

I was not at all impressed when I tried the Beastie. I found it weak (in flavour), watery (or perhaps 'thin') and not one of Ardbeg's better offerings.
MT

[Drrich1965]

I find if you rip off the foil strip and give the cap a good twist, it opens up quite nicely.

Wow, I bet Rich didn't see THAT one coming!

No, but I was impressed, and not the least bit suprised, by the helpfulness and generosity of spirit exibited by the response. Made me feel warm and fuzz, taken care o,f and validated by my whisky community.

[Reggaeblues]

The Beast was definitely tame whan I opened the cage...er, bottle. but he definitely got wilder as the bottle got emptier...wheareas the '77, and the oogies were crackers from first twist of the cork...

[Deactivated Member]

My tasting notes of the "Beastie"..

Nose: Dark chocolate (unsweetened) for a moment, disappears into peat smoke, then comes the familiar 'medicinalä Islay sweetness. Peaty smoke, mesquite grill, earthy moss? Salty.

Taste: A bit hardcore, but simultaneously velvety. A quick flash of dark chocolate on the palate, then a mix of grilled meats and pepper, mixed with certain sweetness and iodine.

Finish: Earthy, peat lumps, stale turmeric, charcoal, lengthy smokiness but also pepper and maltiness. Very long finish.

Really enjoyed this dram.

[netgio]

I can relate to Rich's comment. I'm about a third of the way (and a couple of months or so) into my beastie and I reckon it's more of a pussy cat.

I tried it at WhiskyLive in london and it was more impressed than I was when drank it at home - but that could have been down to the drams that preceded it

So disappointed that I've put it on my "Never again" list...at the RRP!

[Drrich1965]

Well, it is starting to open up a touch. What I am not getting is a deeper sense of the chocolate elements, and a bit more sweetness from the malt. Perhaps over time.....

[Di Blasi]

I think it's best to hold your finger over the word "Beast," and make yourself realize it really isn't, not even a wee beast. It's good whisky, very good, but quite soft and relaxing and not the roaring out of control beast they seem to want to promote. Quite delicate, and the vanilla ice cream note they mention is evident!

[Knolly]

This week I had an interesting experience:

I was out of town traveling with a friend, and a friend of his recommended a whisky bar that he though I might find interesting. Being a huge Islay fan, I was pretty sure that a bottle of the Beastie was coming back home with me and hoped that they might have one in the bar to try.

They had a pretty solid selection (a few hundred open bottles) and while there I discovered that they had a decent selection of Ardbegs. They had the Ten, the Oogie, a bottle of the 17 and yes, the Beastie. On the back wall, I also discovered something pretty cool - a partially consumed bottle of 1974 Ardbeg Provenence (24 yr old, bottled in 1998)! Can you tell I was excited?!

Owning both the Oogie and the Ten, I immediately ordered snifters of the 17, the Beastie and the Provenence all of which I had never tried before.

Now this was a bar, the bottles were opened (who knows how long - obviously the Beastie quite recently, but I don't know about the 17 or the Provenence) and there's all that stuff that goes along with "trying" whisky in a bar. What I found was this:

The Beast was almost anemic - before trying it, I was absolutely positive that I was going to buy a bottle of this to bring home (still probably will at some point), but I ended up buying another Laphroaig 15, a Laphroaig 30, a Bruichladdich Moine Mhor and a bottle of the wonderfully oily and luscious Herencia Anejo tequila

http://tastings.com/scout_spirits.lasso?id=178156 (just for the Tequila lovers here)

So, I'm still undecided on the beastie. It's not cheap (about $110-120 USD) and for that cost I can get two more Laphroaig 15s, or even another Laga 12CS or an Oogie. So, do I buy it because I love Ardbeg, or do I pass? Or do I buy it hoping that in 10 years it will be worth a bit more? It's not Provenence - that's for sure!

The 17: definitely very very tasty, but totally different than other Ardbegs - not the peat punch that I know. a great whisky, but one that requires a totally different mood than say - Oogie. a snifter of this was the same cost as the Provenence at the bar and for my money, I would definitely choose...

The Provenence. Like I said, I have no idea how long ago this bottle was opened; it was about 3/4 consumed as well. However, all I can say is simply: WOW. This lived up to the hype. It is probably the best whisky that I've ever had (not that I'm that experienced but still, it was unbelievably good; now, where to find bottles of this... I went back the next night and had this again, just to make sure it was as amazing as I thought the night before (of course it was). I was even tempted to go back a third time and finish off the bottle, but a rather large amount of sushi, sake and a couple large Kirin lagers ended the third trip prematurely! Unfortunately I flew out the next morning How to describe this? I really can't apart from saying it was pretty much everything that I had thought that it would be after reading so much about this. It just did everything right.

So, anyway, I was undecided on the Beastie. Like I said, I'm sure that at some point I'll grab a bottle of this just cause it's Ardbeg and Ardbeg is cool. However, it (unfortunately) has proved harder to commit to buying this bottle than I thought it would (unlike Oogie, Laga 12cs or the various killer Laphroaigs - QC, 15, 30 - for example). I think I would be happier with a couple of Laph 15s instead; or maybe just buying Johnnie Walker Black for the next year or so, so that I could save up 800-1000 $ for a bottle of the Provenence! LOL

Cheers!

[bond]

I opened my bottle of the 1990 Ardbeg, a few nights ago, and found it VERY closed. Has anyone else noticed this? Does it open up over time? It seems very unwilling to met reveal to me its secrets. Or perhaps just not Ardbeg's most comlpex or deep malt?

Thoughts?

Rich

Do you add water to your whisky? Even that does not help?

[Reggaeblues]

Knolly: "I was undecided on the Beastie."

That, exactly, sums up my feeling. I finished the bottle realising I had made a great effort to like it. Most of the whiskies I choose to buy knock me out from first taste...

BIG problem with the Beast was the hype that preceeded it - like you I love Ardbegs... hence the curse of expectation - which IS a beast! And the price...I ended up wondering if I'd have been better off with 2 10 YOs!!

that said, had somebody handed it me blind, I'd have probably liked it a lot!

Then again, the '77 lived up to its reputation from first sip, but that was indeed "reputation" as opposed to marketing.

Meanwhile, I'll keep buying the 10 as an everyday dram, and the occasional "oogie".

Great post by the way!

[Leither]

Yip, I agree 100% with ReggaeBlues. Have tasted it now 3 times and it just dosn't hit the spot for me.

Better off with two Ardbeg Tens or even a Uigeadail is cheaper. Best stock up now with the Oogy, can't be much left of the old casks used in the mix and I expect the Young Oogy to be the replacement sooner or later.

However I appreciate if it's the subtler side of Ardbeg you're after, rather than full on peat attack, the 17yo or Beast will be your cuppa.

I just think LVMH are pricing Ardbeg Beast too high (compared to other Islay southcoasters) but fair play to them if they are selling it.