Ardbeg 10: new vs. old

[Bulkington]

Am I right to understand that the new 10 yo is on the shelves in Europe now? (I assume not here. At least I haven't noticed.) Has anyone had a chance to compare them? I wonder if I should be stocking up on the old.

[TheTross]

Yes, the new Ten is out now, at least in the UK. I bought one and quickly compared it to an 'old' Ten (L8) a few days ago. I find the new Ten to be a little softer, sweeter and creamier than the older one, but with basically the same overall profile. Not sure which one I prefer yet, though I remember leaning slightly towards the new Ten at the time.

I'll be doing a proper H2H with these two sometime towards the weekend - I'm whisky-free for the first half of the week these days - so I'll report back in a bit more detail then.

[Willie JJ]

I did a head to head about a week and a half ago and while it wasn't on a fresh palate I would agree with the Tross' assessment. For me there seemed to be more influence from the bourbon casks giving more of those softer toffee-ish flavours. The old ten to me was more fruity and seemed a little more complex. Both are excellent, but there is a clear difference between them. At the time I remember thinking that I marginally preffered the old ten, but whether that would follow on a fresh palate time will tell.

Cheers

[peat-chaser]

Thanks to Keith, who gave me a sample of the new Tenlast week, so I could compare them on friday, the New Ten vs older Ten (L7=bottled 2007).
Well it took more than an hour, but in the end I can tell, I rated the new one a little higher because of its nose. It´s a bit more "ardbeggy", a little stronger or a little more powerful, the L7 is a little softer, but smoother too and closer to the mainsteam.

The palate of the L7 is a bit more influenced by the bourboncask, so it´s a bit smoother, with more vanilla and a little more sweetness, tariness and some wood, which I didn´t find in the new one. The new is a little stronger and a little more harsh, with less fruitiness, but with more power and presence. The lasting of the L7 is a bit smoother too and a bit alcoholic, the new one lasts a little longer.

In taste and lasting I didn´t make a difference in rating them, though there are more or less clear differences, but I like both rather well.
The only diffenence i rating I made was in the nose, so the the new one got one point more .....

So, I´d say the L7 and the New are almost the same, but I know that L6 and earlier where even smoother and less powerful than the L7. So according to your likings you can store some bottles of the old ten, but it´s not really necessary.

[AZmalt]

Would anyone be willing to share their L6 vs. L7 tasting notes? I just discovered this thread and would like to see which of the two malts I should acquire if they are both available at my local merchants.

Thank you

[Deactivated Member]

The new 10 is available on some shelves here in Germany and I tried them in a head to head some time ago.

I am sure I had the tasting notes in my own tasting notes discussion, but they don't seem to be there any more.
I also posted the notes elsewhere on here and I will try to find them.


But, in essence I found the older one to be more 'Ardbeggy', the smoke and peat elements were stronger.
The new one has a little more citrus which adds to the flavour, but hides a little of the power of the peat.

[Deactivated Member]

But, in essence I found the older one to be more 'Ardbeggy', the smoke and peat elements were stronger.
The new one has a little more citrus which adds to the flavour, but hides a little of the power of the peat.

I agree. The old one had a smokey bacon, hammy edge to it. The new one is lime, lime and more lime. I think they are very different, albeit with some similarities.

[suffolkwhisky]

But, in essence I found the older one to be more 'Ardbeggy', the smoke and peat elements were stronger.
The new one has a little more citrus which adds to the flavour, but hides a little of the power of the peat.

I agree. The old one had a smokey bacon, hammy edge to it. The new one is lime, lime and more lime. I think they are very different, albeit with some similarities.

A rare post but tried this a few times last week and I agree: I found lots more fruit in the new 10 (though for me more lemon than lime, although I do often confuse those fruits) as well as more sugar and less oak. Both are good. I haven't generally found the bacon notes in the 10 (apparently it is a particularly type of phenol that causes this) but I do in the Uigeadail.

Still no new 10 in shops round here though!

[Deactivated Member]

I think it's slightly difficult to compare the two given that the old one is technically 16 or 17 years old.

[Spirit of Islay]

I think it's slightly difficult to compare the two given that the old one is technically 16 or 17 years old.

Where did you get that from Mark ? Maybe 11 or 12 or 13 depending on the bottling , what you need to look at is the last distillation of pre-Glenmorangie , 1996 , and work from there . Also rumoured one of the last bottlings (pre new 10yo) contained 1997 glenmo distillation .

[Deactivated Member]

I think it's slightly difficult to compare the two given that the old one is technically 16 or 17 years old.

Where did you get that from Mark ? Maybe 11 or 12 or 13 depending on the bottling , what you need to look at is the last distillation of pre-Glenmorangie , 1996 , and work from there . Also rumoured one of the last bottlings contained 1997 glenmo distillation .

Um, just going with what Jim Murray said when he gave it the award...

[Spirit of Islay]

So if it was 16yo when bottled in 2007 /2008 it was 1991/1992 stock , wouldn't have thought so given Ardbegs lack of stock !
And i wouldn't have thought they would throw that old of stock into the 10yo !

[killerwhale]

just my 2 cents (Canadian at that!!) but the 'new' 10 was awesome...... well done Glenmo!!!!!
one has to try both and decide for themselves but it's darn good.

[Charlie]

My first impressions are that I prefer the old one, although I still like the new one.

Maybe it will change with more familiarity.

[xcaper]

I haven't tried the newer bottling yet. I have 4 bottles of the 07 bottling and like it a lot . I'm hesitant about shelling out close to $100 for the new Ardbeg 10 but I'm sure curiosity will eventually get the better of me.

[Bulkington]

I haven't tried the newer bottling yet. I have 4 bottles of the 07 bottling and like it a lot . I'm hesitant about shelling out close to $100 for the new Ardbeg 10 but I'm sure curiosity will eventually get the better of me.

$100 for the new 10? Where do you live? What country's currency is that?

The worst I've seen is at a liquor store in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where, consistent with their inflated prices, they're asking $66.

[kwellada]

$100 for the new 10? Where do you live? What country's currency is that?

The Ardbeg 10 is $93 CAD in British Columbia. At the moment, I guess that's only $75 or so USD, but the price was that high when the two currencies were on par earlier this year.

[xcaper]

I haven't tried the newer bottling yet. I have 4 bottles of the 07 bottling and like it a lot . I'm hesitant about shelling out close to $100 for the new Ardbeg 10 but I'm sure curiosity will eventually get the better of me.

$100 for the new 10? Where do you live? What country's currency is that?

The worst I've seen is at a liquor store in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where, consistent with their inflated prices, they're asking $66.

It's $99.95 Canadian for the Ardbeg 10 at the LCBO here in Ontario. I bought my Ardbeg 10 in Nova Scotia last year for about $55.00.

This time last year, Ardbeg 10 here in Ontario was selling for about $75.00.

[thekw]

Yup, sad to see the LCBO gouging at $100 a bottle. I am getting the same 10 yr old Ardbeg this week through family in Alberta for $64.