A fistful of Ardbeg

Arrrrrrrdbeg (51.8%, OB, ex-rye casks, 2020)
Absolutely matured in ex-rye casks and bottled to mark the departure of the good Mickey Heads. I could not inform you if I put the right variety of ‘r’s within the identify there. Color: pale straw. Nostril: I do not discover it significantly Ardbeggy, it is extra on gentle seawater, washing salts, seaside foam and sand to start with. Any peat could be very restrained. Putty, some crab sticks, sandalwood and chalk. Fairly elegant however a bit unsure maybe. With water: very crystalline with brittle salinity, lemon juice, pine wooden and a contact of aniseed. Mouth: some peat comes now, gentle and peppery peat, with metallic polish, soot, certainly a bit pumpernickel rye spiciness as effectively. Though total it stays a bit youthful and sharp across the edges I believe. With water: some smoked olive oil, some lemon juice and a little bit of sharp, barely acidic and tangy smoke. End: medium, prickly with smoke, some pickle brine, extra aniseed and extra pepper. Feedback: not too positive about this one. It feels a bit undercooked and never significantly Ardbeg to me. Nonetheless, the freshness and crispness are very fulfilling.
SGP: 355 – 82 factors.

Ardbeg 5 yo ‘Wee Beastie’ (47.4%, OB, b29/10/2020)
Color: pale straw. Nostril: numerous these usually youthful yeasty sourdough starter notes, lemon juice on moist sheep wool, moist rope, creosote and a relatively sooty smokiness. Some issues like whelks and salty pasta water within the background. Youthful however excellently and refreshingly so I would say. Mouth: tingling peat smoke, seawater, wooden ashes, kelp and iodine. Moderately glorious immediately. Beautiful sense of bathtub salts and tarry hessian. End: good size, a heat peppery feeling, extra sharp salt crystals, lemon juice, seawater and hessian. Feedback: I do not discover this significantly beasty, however I do discover it extraordinarily charming and excellent. How about ‘wee magnificence’ as a substitute?
SPG: 466 – 87 factors. 

Ardbeg 10 yo (46%, OB, L 22/03/2021)
Color: white wine. Nostril: moist rocks, hessian, chalk, brine, lemon juice, medicines, calmly acidic peat smoke. It is  Ardbeg 10 and every part seems to be as an alternative. Mouth: nice arrival, sharp, drying peat smoke, extra hessian, oily software rags, smoked sea salt, camphor, tar, iodine. Textural but in addition chiselled and exact too. You possibly can suppose in some methods it is a mixture of Caol Ila and Laphroaig at instances. Some pretty maritime qualities like seawater and kelp come by with a pair extra sips. Retains evolving with extra issues like creel nets, extra tar, anthracite embers and roof pitch. Selecting up energy because it goes alongside. End: lengthy, stuffed with wooden ashes, silky peat smoke, tar, embrocations and issues like lime and seawater. Feedback: I believe they by no means actually altered the recipe of a mixture of 1st and refill casks since this one was launched. Very good, as a result of IMHO, this stays an excellent trendy basic. Complete bang in your buck territory for positive.
SPG: 367 – 90 factors.

Ardbeg 8 yo ‘For Dialogue’ (50.8%, OB, b18/03/2021)
It is nice that these bottles have extra ‘frequent sense’ L codes as of late. Color: shiny straw. Nostril: delicately salty, this sense of issues like smoked and pink sea salts. Bathtub bombs, sandalwood, briny pickling juices, kippers – feels notably extra mature after the 5yo, maybe deceptively so. However nonetheless, it is one other excellent one. With water: getting extra fragrant and medicinal now with issues like witchhazel, wintergreen and aniseed. Some touches of germoline and camphor as effectively. Mouth: hoho, pretty oily and textural peat, slathered on phenolics, engine grease, tar extracts, some punchy hospital vibes, gauze, iodine, black pepper and thick sooty notes. Completely excellent and the feel is basically what impresses most! With water: great peat flavour, cough medicines, pepper and anchovy paste. A terrific tarriness that feels completely Ardbeggy. End: good size, peppery, tarry, barely fishy and nonetheless with this splendidly oily and phenolic vibe. Feedback: I discover this wee child simply completely excellent, what I like most is that it feels not solely technically good, however with this splendidly texture it additionally feels prefer it has a soul to match. Benchmark younger trendy Ardbeg at its finest. I can be shopping for a few bottles and you might take that as a agency seal of approval.
SGP: 577 – 90 factors.

Ardbeg 19 yo ‘Traigh Bhan’ (46.2%, OB, batch ‘TB/03 -10.10.01/21.BL’, American oak and oloroso sherry casks)
The most recent batch I imagine. Is it simply me, or are these batch numbers are longer than Invoice Lumsden’s joke e book? Color: pale gold. Nostril: a extremely fragrant and scented sort of peat smoke that feels fairly wispy, smooth and permeating with impressions of sandalwood, furnishings polish and crushed sea shells. Additionally issues like smoked tea, menthol tobacco, myrtle and heather beer. Though I suppose that is early 2000s Glenmorangie produced batches now, it feels extra harking back to the Nineteen Nineties Allied type. Which is sort of reassuring in some ways. Mouth: pepper, smoked olive oil, very tarry, lots of hessian, smoked cereals and a few struck flints and different relatively punchy mineral touches. In time it evolves these massive camphor facets but in addition various dried herbs, aniseed, dried lime peel and hardwood resins. End: medium and with this warming peppery and peaty aspect (which appears to be an growing hallmark of those trendy Ardbeg), leather-based, pine cones, wooden smoke and a bit extra aniseed. Feedback: glorious whisky, little doubt about it. However maybe the 8 was a tad extra spectacular just by advantage of its youthful zest. Anyway, we’re splitting hairs – that is pretty.
SGP: 566 – 90 factors.