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Read stories about Ardbeg of A Wardrobe of Whisky blog.

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Ardbeg Alligator Untamed Release Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Recommended , Ardbeg

“Perhaps the best Ardbeg I have had. Quite delicious complex nose.”

92
Ardbeg Alligator Untamed Release
It's aged in a similar style to the standard 10 year old, except for the fact that a portion of the whisky was aged in heavily charred barrels.

The barrels are charred to such an extent that they start to crack a little on the inside, and this resembles alligator skin, thus the name.

The committee release of Ardbeg Alligator was exceptional and incredibly popular.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (93): more than average. sweet, peat, honey, citrus, vanilla, cinnamon, coffee. Hell more than intense than standard ten years old.

Palate (92): powerful, oily. peat, honey, citrus, vanilla, salt, wood, pepper, dark chocolate.

Finish (90): long. peat, spices, honey, citrus, burnt wood.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Ardbeg Alligator Untamed Release with 92 points over 100.

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Gare Saint Lazare by Claude Monet

By Miguel in Ardbeg , Drink & Arts

Paris Saint-Lazare is one of the six large terminus train stations of Paris. It is the second busiest in Paris, behind the Gare du Nord.

Claude Monet Gare Saint Lazare

The picture

Claude Monet (14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement’s philosophy of expressing one’s perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting.

In 1877, painter Claude Monet rented a studio near the Gare Saint Lazare.

That same year he exhibited seven paintings of the railway station in an impressionist painting exhibition. He completed 11 paintings of this subject.

The dram: Adrbeg Supernova

a bottle of Ardbeg Supernova sn2010
Argh! See that smoke! See those trains! Doesn’t it smells like Ardbeg?!

Quite possibly the most exciting new whisky release for 2010!
This is the brand new Supernova, stronger, more pungent in flavour, and more earthy than last year’s Supernova – which Jim Murray rated with 97 points, heralding it as the “Scotch Whisky of the Year”.

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Ardbeg Corryvreckan Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Recommended , Ardbeg

“ Really like Ardbeg promised: it is a whirlpool of whisky. Don’t forget your life jacket.”

93
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Like the famous Islay whirlpool, Ardbeg Corryvreckan is heady, intense and powerful. Its ‘finish’ is long and deep, leaving the connoisseur with a lingering thought of a mysterious and daring journey.

Experiments initiated in 1999, and continued ever since, have created parcels of Ardbeg stock slowly maturing in French oak casks on Islay. These are at the heart of Corryvreckan’s perplexing character, teasing spicy and sumptuous sweet fruity notes from the maturing whisky.

This Ardbeg single malt, bottled at cask strength, is a great whisky you shouldn't miss.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (92): inexistent. ardbeg, peat, iodine, citrus, disinfectant, toffee, marine. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (96): . peat, sweet, hot, sweet, citrus, grass, earth, lime. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (92): no finish. earth, peat, citrus. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Ardbeg Corryvreckan with 93 points over 100.

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Ardbeg 1978 Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Ardbeg
88
Ardbeg 1978
The second of the limited edition vintage releases of distillery-bottled Ardbeg 1978, this is from 1999.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (88): inexistent. sweet, malt, citrus lemon, fresh, wood, honey. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (88): . sweet, peat, honey, peat, herbs, salt. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (88): no finish. peat, wood, coffee, cocoa. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Ardbeg 1978 with 88 points over 100.

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Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist 16 years old Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Ardbeg
87
Ardbeg 1990 Airigh Nam Beist
There is a dark place on Islay, high above the Ardbeg Distillery, called Airigh Nam Beist (pronounced `arry-nam-bayst`) which in Gaelic means `shelter of the beast`.

No more fitting name could have been bestowed on such an eerie place; this is where - legend has it - something other-worldly lurks, lying in wait. So what measures can be taken to protect local and visitor alike? If you find yourself straying this way, then pray equip yourself with that traditionally reliable antidote to sheer terror - the stiff drink.

A travelling man could ask for no better protection than a hip flask full of the strong stuff, namely Ardbeg`s Airigh Nam Beist. For it`s truly a wee beastie of a dram - waiting to be released!

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (88): inexistent. fruits, pear, lemon, cocoa, malt, some peat, wood, sherry, vanilla and honey. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (88): . sweet, honey, malt, wood, peat. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (84): no finish. peat and wood. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Ardbeg 1990 Airigh Nam Beist with 87 points over 100.

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Ardbeg Supernova SN2010 Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Recommended , Ardbeg

“ An awesome release. More complex than Ardbeg 10 years old, definitively hotter and more earthy. If you are in the peat wave do your best to get one.”

93
Ardbeg Supernova SN2010
The new 2010 expression of Ardbeg Supernova is out of this world – even deeper, stronger and earthier than the award-winning 2009 edition.

Ardbeg Supernova is a most peated than the usual whisky from Ardbeg, bottled at cask strength and without chill filtering.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (88): inexistent. sweet, fruity, citrus, mature apples, biscuits, a little peat, malt. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (96): . sweet, peat, earth, cocoa, lemon, floral, biscuits. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (96): no finish. earth and peat, lemon. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Ardbeg Supernova SN2010 with 93 points over 100.

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Ardbeg Uigeadail Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Recommended , Ardbeg

“ A great dram. One of the best Ardbegs I have tried that has still a reasonable price. It is more complex than Ardbeg 10 years old and has no trace of vanilla.”

93
Ardbeg Uigeadail
A fine drop of Ardbeg bottled at cask strength.

As most Ardbeg whiskies, Uigeadail is an earthy whisky with a bit of spice - a marriage of Ardbeg from bourbon barrel and sherry butt which gives a sweet and smokey finish to this malt at 54.2%.

Uigeadail is the loch from which all Ardbeg water flows and you can suck up the Islay landscape with a dram of this fine whisky. Winner of World Whisky of The Year title in Jim Murray`s 2009 Whisky Bible.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (88): inexistent. sweet, malt, fruity: melon, complex. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (100): . sweet, peat, hot, fruity, lemon, malt. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (92): no finish. peat and fruity, sweet. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Ardbeg Uigeadail with 93 points over 100.

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Ardbeg Blasda Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Ardbeg
81
Ardbeg Blasda
We all know Ardbeg packs a peaty punch, but if you remove some of that peat, can Ardbeg still retain its perfect balance?

The mind bog-gling answer is "yes"! By taming our usual mighty peating levels we have created Blasda, peated to an average of just 8 parts per million phenol (8ppm) compared to the more usual 24ppm. Blasda is still perfectly balanced, but light, sweet and delicious.

But in my opinion, a departure from the great style of Ardbeg 10 years old. I didn't like it.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (84): inexistent. disinfectant, iodine, sea, peat, fresh citrus lemon. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (84): . peat, wood, salt, seaweed. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (76): no finish. a little peat. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Ardbeg Blasda with 81 points over 100.

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Ardbeg Still Young Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Recommended , Ardbeg

“ Simply awesome, mind blowing. Forget Supernova, Uigeaidail or whatever. This is Ardbeg!”

95
Ardbeg Still Young
The second release in Ardbeg's journey to the new 10 years old, Still Young was released in 2006 and continued the successful 'path to peaty maturity' as the marketing types called it.

This Ardbeg bottling is the continuation of Very Young and as the previous one is bottled at natural cask strength.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (96): inexistent. citrus, peat, earth, bits of cocoa, something burnt, toffee. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (100): . sweet, peat, citrus, malt, a little wood, vanilla. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (88): no finish. peat and earth.. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Ardbeg Still Young with 95 points over 100.

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Ardbeg 10 years old Tasting note

By Miguel in Tasting , Recommended , Ardbeg

“ I have been waiting for this moment since my order with Ardbeg samples arrived. It is a great awesome whisky, I love the way peat plays in it.
It is a bit more fruity than Laphroaig 10 years old and not as complex as Lagavulin 16 years old but it is a great one really.”

89
Ardbeg 10 year old
Ardbeg Ten Years Old is a very special bottling for the Ardbeg distillery.

This Islay single malt is the first non-chill filtered whisky in the Ardbeg range. Chill filtering isn't a bad thing, in fact it created real consistency of product when the whisky industry was a little more `hap-hazard` than it is today. Ardbeg Ten Years Old is whisky with none of the goodness taken out and as good as straight from the cask.

If you enjoyed this Ardbeg, you really need to have a cask strength Ardbeg that it is only slightly more expensive. A no brainer if you ask me.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (88): inexistent. peat, citrus freshness, disinfectant, salt, vanilla, cocoa, motor oil. First nosing data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Palate (92): . peat, earth, mud, citrus, floral, grass, peat, hot. Bouquet data is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

Finish (88): no finish. peat and earth. Finish length is innacurate as the previous tasting sheet lacked of this field.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Ardbeg 10 year old with 89 points over 100.

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