Nose: Wave upon wave of peat smoke and barbecue coal embers,
charred oak, M&S beech wood smoked bacon, dark chocolate covered coffee
beans, Mackays three fruit marmalade, blackberry jam, burnt granary toast, Scottish
tablet, aniseed twists, Pears soap, soy sauce, seaweed, sage, rosemary and a
good grind of white pepper.
Palate: All the drawn in, hit the back of the throat brazenness of freshly laid tarmac,
peat smoke, charred oak, Colman’s English mustard glazed gammon, smoked
walnuts, salted caramel, aniseed twists, Lockets honey and lemon lozenges, suds
of Wrights traditional coal tar soap, five spice, sage, rosemary, white pepper
and a tease of mint tea.
Finish: A fabulous, full-on flavour fest of all things Ardbegian,
which is driven by those smoke and five spice notes, and is in no hurry to peter
out.
Summary: Another bountiful belter of a committee release
bottling from the iconic Islay based distillery, which has been bottled to help
celebrate Ardbeg Day, as part of the 2021 Fèis Ìle (Islay Festival of Music and
Malt). As ever, this annual release highlights all the gutsy gloriousness that
this distillery delivers, along with a wealth of additional and unique cask
influenced nuances.
