-
- Price band
-
£ £ £ £ £
- ABV
- 50%
- Production type
- Single malt whisky
- Region
- Islay
- Flavour camp
- Smoky & Peaty
- Nose
Manages to mingle together oiliness (motor oil), Neoprene and wet kelp with a dry undertow, before tarred seashore notes come through. Mineral, lemon, slightly medicinal, then a lanolin warmth. Water allows it to become more expansive with hints of ink, dashi and bonito flakes, then samphire.
- Palate
Immediately phenolic with this unctuous oiliness insinuating itself along the tongue, as flavours of bay rum and light spiciness mingle with lemon and medicine. Intense. It’s only that ooze which gives away its age. As with the nose, water brings out more concentration, with a new water mint element. It fades gently towards the finish where there are…
- Finish
...chilli flakes, menthol.
- Conclusion
Fantastic, energetic, medicinal and powerful. This is Ardbeg looking along the coast to Laphroaig and saying: ‘Bring it on.’
- Right place, right time
Bent into the wind on the seashore after a storm. Wind clears your brain, salt flecks your lips.
- Price band
-
£ £ £ £ £
- ABV
- 48.3%
- Production type
- Single malt whisky
- Region
- Islay
- Flavour camp
- Smoky & Peaty
- Nose
In similar vein to the Old Malt Cask, but slightly thicker. Here, we are on land rather than the seashore of the 27-year-old. The smokiness is more, er, smoky, rather than phenolic. Bonfire, damp moss, wet hiking boots, black fruits, burnt toast, herbal honey, mastic and bay leaf. It has layers of mature complexity. Water softens and brings out more oak.
- Palate
Thick and oily, this time peppery Spanish olive oil, then a mix of the bay leaf, Douglas fir needles and fruits, while a black wave of peat builds. This doesn’t act as a drying element thanks to the oils, allowing it to break softly. With water, it becomes chewier, with burnt cream and hickory hints.
- Finish
Huge and smoke-filled.
- Conclusion
Deep, and highly complex.
- Right place, right time
Camping in an old-growth coastal rainforest.
- Price band
-
£ £ £ £ £
- ABV
- 50%
- Production type
- Single malt whisky
- Region
- Islay
- Flavour camp
- Smoky & Peaty
- Nose
Anyone for curry? This is all curry leaf, fenugreek and turmeric, with light nuances of clove. Now the smoke seems either muted or absorbed. Meaty, with some lime pickle on the side. As well as the curried elements you pick out almond and paprika, then Seville orange. Immense depth. Water simply amplifies everything!
- Palate
As you might expect, the start is peppery and spicy with huge density. Flavours move into walnut oil, dates, then take a more exotic turn: oudh, rose petals, eucalyptus, incense and those fully integrated phenols. A magnificent beast, which is best taken straight. Water doesn’t harm it in any way, but I like the impact.
- Finish
Rich, subtly smoked, heady and concentrated.
- Conclusion
Ardbeg at its most savoury.
- Right place, right time
An opium dream in a Maharaja’s palace.
Let’s start 2017 with a selection of old and hard-to-come-by whiskies. Dave Broom has plucked another trio from the vaults – or, to be more precise, from the vaults of Douglas Laing. As well as the Old Malt Cask range (now owned by Hunter Laing, incidentally), the bottler is also generally believed to have provided the Oddbins Manager’s Choice bottlings.
The first Ardbeg 27-year-old out of two featured below, was distilled in 1972 and bottled in 2000. It is part of the Old Malt Cask bottlings, then owned by Douglas Laing.
Next is a 32-year-old Ardbeg drawn from cask #866. This was distilled in 1972 and bottled in 2004 exclusively for Oddbins.
And lastly, another 27-year-old Ardbeg, distilled in 1975 and bottled in 2002 – also belonging to the Old Malt Cask range.
Beyond the distillery name, all three expressions share another common factor: they come from a time when people were waking up to Ardbeg, but prices hadn’t yet headed into the stratosphere. How times change...