Category Archives: Whisky Reviews & Tasting Notes

Advent Day 6: 1995 Tormore 18 y.o. (Samaroli)

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Secret Spirits Advent Calendar Day 6 – December 6th030

1995 Tormore 18 y.o. (Samaroli)

Cask #20260/20262 American Oak

45% abv

Score:  91/100

 

A whisky from the Secret Spirits Advent Calendar First Edition. 

I know nothing about Tormore.  Literally.  Never tried one.  Never really read much about the distillery either.  So let’s not get bothered about the distillery history or anything here.  That’s not really the point in what I’m doing with these Secret Spirits Advent Calendar reviews.  Suffice it to say I’m tickled pink to be able to add a new distillery to my list.

This ’95 Tormore is another knockout release from Samaroli.  It’s an 18 year old malt composed of two (nearly consecutive) former bourbon barrels.  Quite active barrels, I’d suggest.  There’s a lot of spice and synthetic sweetness coming through on this whisky.   I must admit that this style is generally not particularly to my taste, but this malt is really, really working for me.

I would have loved to have seen this bottled at natural cask strength, but 45% is still a healthy abv, and strong enough to deliver flavours as they were meant to be experienced.

As only 30 bottles of this whisky are hitting the local market, I can only assume that a few hundred bottles will be released in the wider whisky world.  For those with access…this is a malt well worth investing in.

Nose:  Oh, hell, yeah!  At first nosing I’d even guess this to be OLDER than 18 years.  Great soft fruits like green grapes, peach, pink grapefruit and syrupy cocktail.  Cherry and cinnamon.  Chewy ju-jube sort of candy notes.  Body Shop satsuma glycerine soap.  Very, very sweet nose.

Palate:  Sweet and spicy arrival.  Mouthwatering fruits up front, then some wine-like woody notes.  That very same satsuma fruity note.  More on the juicy sweet pink grapefruit.  Dried into pith and oaky notes.  Lovely throughout.

Thoughts:  Tangy, tangy, tangy.  A lot of bourbon influence.  Becomes more and more bourbon-esque over time.  Exceptional cask selection.  Man, what a way to pop my ‘Tormore’ cherry.  Must…find…more.

Bonus:  My mate, Jonathan, and I are gonna blog on these drams side by side through the season.  Here’s a link to his notes on the same whisky at SingleMalting.com.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Advent Day 5: Stronachie 10 y.o. (A.D. Rattray)

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Secret Spirits Advent Calendar Day 5 – December 5th128

Stronachie 10 y.o. (A.D. Rattray)

Distilled at Benrinnes

43% abv

Score:  80.5/100

 

A whisky from the Secret Spirits Advent Calendar First Edition. 

Stronachie…Benrinnes.  Tomato…tomahto.  Let’s call the whole thing off.

Or wait.  Let’s not.  Let’s drink some whisky.

If you’re doing some checking into the Stronachie distillery you’re most likely apt to hit dead end after dead end.  The distillery simply doesn’t exist.  Anymore, that is.  The original Stronachie distillery was shuttered in 1928.  In a very telling quote from the A.D. Rattray website (attributable to…who knows?): “The obliteration is total.  Only the name remains.”

So how is it then – warm at home at Christmas time 2014 – are we Advent-Calendar-following souses drinking Stronachie 10 year old for Day 5 of December?  ‘Cause Tim Morrison and the team at A.D. Rattray decided a few years back to replicate the style of the original distillate (through some reverse engineering of a rare old bottle of the original Stronachie from 1904…very similar to the recreation of MacKinlay’s Shackleton whisky) and relaunch the brand name under their own auspices.  After they had determined the flavour profile of that old turn-of-the-century malt, they scoured existing distilleries to find the whisky with a profile that most closely aligned with that 1904 control bottle.  Said malt turned out to be Benrinnes.

In short, Stronachie is Benrinnes bottled under a different name.

So there’s the history (albeit very condensed).  Let’s try the whisky now.  A rather tasty young bottle that is readily available under the A.D.R. banner in fairly broad markets.

Nose:  A surprising amount of citrus.  Sharp and rather young, but all pleasant notes.  A touch of dried apricot.  Very clean oak and a little bit of furniture polish.  There’s a slight off note here, but so minor as to be negligable.

Palate:  Oh, wow.  Love the arrival here.  Immediate lemon notes.  Kind of bitters after a moment or two though and moves into nuttier notes.  Almost Jura-esque, actually.  Getting a sort of wine-like influence too.  Some pith.  Malty, to be sure.

Thoughts:  Surprisingly complex for a 10 y.o., though not entirely my thing.  Has some personality though and seems to be a better drink than I recall the old 12 year version being.

Bonus:  My mate, Jonathan, and I are gonna blog on these drams side by side through the season.  Here’s a link to his notes on the same whisky at SingleMalting.com.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Advent Day 4: “Peat Chimney” 12 y.o. (Wemyss Malts)

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097Secret Spirits Advent Calendar Day 4 – December 4th

“Peat Chimney” 12 y.o. (Wemyss Malts)

Blended Malt

40% abv

Score:  85/100

 

A whisky from the Secret Spirits Advent Calendar First Edition. 

Alright.  Now we’re wading into familiar waters.

Peatheads, rejoice!  This Wemyss blended malt is an Islay-phile’s wet dream.  Any of the chosen few out there that have made the pilgrimage to Scotland’s Hebridean peat mecca will immediately be swept back to the island’s quaint and rustic charm.  Especially those chilly early mornings with the smell of chimney smoke and seabreeze in the air.  This is bottled Islay.  For those that may never make the journey…sit back with a couple of youtube clips and a glass of this “Peat Chimney” in hand and you’ll at least have something of the virtual experience.

Being a blended malt means that this whisky is a vatting of single malts (with no grains thrown into the mix!) from more than one distillery.  Since I’m going on nothing more than the rather austere and sparse (and classy, I might add!) label, I honestly couldn’t even tell you if all of the component malts are in fact Islay whiskies.  I’ll work on the assumption that this is indeed the case – simply based on the flavours I’m getting from this one.

It’s anyone’s guess, however, as to which distilleries are represented in this concoction.  We do know that getting Ardbeg and Lagavulin stocks for blending or independent bottling purposes is next to impossible these days in our superheated global whisky market.  This is likely also the case with Kilchoman and Bruichladdich.  The most likely candidates therefore would be Caol Ila, Laphroaig, Bowmore and Bunnahabhain.  The profile here doesn’t even remotely hint at this latter distillery either.  So…a little bit of guesswork is as far as I’m willing to go with this one.  Either way…it’s a treat of a dram.

It’s also nice to see the calendar bringing some peat and heat into the mix.  An absolute necessity for these cold winter climes.

Nose:  Immediately reminiscent of a Port Charlotte, sans that butyric note Bruichladdich is famous for.  Iodine.  Oysters on the shell…with a squeeze.  Smoke, of course.  Tar and ash.  Salt licorice.  Gets more ashy and a bit meaty with some time.  Yes…that’s a good thing.  Tangy.  A bit of a BBQ note.  There may be some fruit here, but it’s buried at least six feet under the peat.

Palate:  Woah!  Very dry and ashy.  Flinty too.  Salt water (and maybe some of the little critters that might live in said water).  Dry smoke.  Peaty, earthiness.  Some powdered cacao.  Nuts, of some sort.  Finally, a little bit of sweetness to work as a foil to the phenols.

Thoughts:  Definite personal appeal here.  Not quite a rawk star, but definitely a rather kickass indie band in your favorite bar.  Can’t get over how DRY this is!

Bonus:  My mate, Jonathan, and I are gonna blog on these drams side by side through the season.  Here’s a link to his notes on the same whisky at SingleMalting.com.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Advent Day 3: 1993 “Samaroli Spey” 21 y.o. (Samaroli)

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Secret Spirits Advent Calendar Day 3 – December 3rd013

1993 “Samaroli Spey” 21 y.o. (Samaroli)

Cask #1974 American Oak

45% abv

Score:  89.5/100

 

A whisky from the Secret Spirits Advent Calendar First Edition. 

Ok.  Not gonna lie.  I’m drinking ahead with my advent calendar.  I have to in order to ensure I can get these updates posted daily.  At this point I am through the first ten whiskies, and man…I gotta say…Samaroli are absolutely knocking my socks off.  These folks obviously have some killer casks at their disposal.  I simply cannot wait to get my hands on more of their releases.

With that out of my system, let’s dive in and try the wee bottle from behind door number three: a 21 year old malt called “Samaroli Spey”.

As I’m not doing any research on these whiskies while drinking my way through (it’s more fun just to simply enjoy the dram and publish some very raw notes), I had no clue which Speyside distillery this malt was from until I started pulling together this post over my morning coffee.  While copying the link to Jonathan’s review (see below) I noticed that he referred to this “Samaroli Spey” as a Cragganmore.  Ok.  Fun stuff.  Cragganmore is a Diageo holding, and not a distillery that has a particularly broad range of expressions on the market (primarily just a 12 y.o. and Distiller’s Edition…at least locally, that is).  I have tried a couple of other Cragganmore indies, and found ’em to be anything from ‘better than average’ to ‘very good’.  Having said that, let’s see what Samaroli can do with this typically rather tame spirit.

Nose:  Very soft.  Very nice.  Honey and nougat.  Sugar cookies.  A little bit of white chocolate.  Spicy bourbon notes.  Grapefruit and orange.  Pie crust.  Sponge cake.  All sorts of white or green fruits and nearly any ‘light’ and ‘soft’ dessert you can imagine.

Palate:  Wow.  Stunning delivery.  Just the ‘woosh’ of oily loveliness at first.  Coats everything.  It’s after that the flavours all expand outwards.  Flan.  Green grapes.  More of those bourbon spices and some wet wood notes.  Cinnamon.  Apple.  Fruit skins.  Not quite as awe-inspiring as the nose, but still delish.

Thoughts:  This whisky came from a very gentle barrel.  I sort of wonder what would have happened with a few more years in wood?  Either way…already a great whisky.

Bonus:  My mate, Jonathan, and I are gonna blog on these drams side by side through the season.  Here’s a link to his notes on the same whisky at SingleMalting.com.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Advent Day 2: 2007 Aultmore 7 y.o. (A.D. Rattray)

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Secret Spirits Advent Calendar Day 2 – December 2nd122

2007 Aultmore 7 y.o. (A.D. Rattray)

Cask #900015 Sherry Cask

50% abv

Score:  84.5/100

 

A whisky from the Secret Spirits Advent Calendar First Edition. 

First Aultmore reviewed for the site.  Again…another distillery that isn’t often represented in the single malt spheres.  Most of the spirit from this Speyside distillery ends up buried deep in the Dewar’s blends, for better or worse.

It’s an oft-quoted number, but apparently about 90% of whisky produced in Scotland ends up being bottled and sold as blends.  Obviously then it would become imperative for blenders to have vast quantities of component malts (and grains) at their disposal.  The result – unfortunately for us malt snobs – is a bunch of distilleries from which we get a disproportionately small sample set of whiskies to taste.  It’s also incredibly difficult to be able to speak to a distillery’s profile and thumb print characteristics with any sort of authority.

This exact problem is the case with Aultmore.  Nearly 3 million litres produced annually and sweet f*ck all for bottlings on the shelves.  Oh well.  I guess we just need to appreciate them a little more when the opportunities present themselves.

So…not having a lot in the way of points of comparison, let’s simply dive into the glass: a malt that surprises with the enormity of its sherry influence.

Nose:  Wow.  Hefty young sherry.  Chocolate and thick fudgy/toffee notes.  Cinnamon and toasted oak.  Ginger snap cookies.  Spice cake or muffins.  Toasted rye bread.  Mince pies.  Suisse Mocha flavoured coffee powder and dark vanilla.

Palate:  Spicy as all hell.  And different than any other malt I’ve met.  Deeper on meaty and leathery notes than the big fruits I’d expect from young sherry bombs.  Manzanilla perhaps?  Dunno.  Think old school Mortlach meets Aberlour a’bunadh.  Still getting some fruit notes though, but they’re more like very dry fruitcake and orange zest.  An odd spice note I simply can’t place.

Thoughts:  I love the fact that this is an ‘in your face’ age-stated 7 year old.  Exactly what I’ve been wanting to see whisky makers do.  Nothing wrong with being young and proud…so long as it’s good.  And yes…this is.  Very odd.  But good.

Bonus:  My mate, Jonathan, and I are gonna blog on these drams side by side through the season.  Here’s a link to his notes on the same whisky at SingleMalting.com.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Advent Day 1: 1997 “Citrus Burst” Linkwood 16 y.o. (Wemyss Malts)

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Secret Spirits Advent Calendar Day 1 – December 1st037

1997 “Citrus Burst” Linkwood 16 y.o. (Wemyss Malts)

Cask #7189 Bourbon Hogshead

46% abv

Score:  88/100

 

A whisky from the Secret Spirits Advent Calendar First Edition. 

This is a heck of a surprising dram from Speyside’s Linkwood distillery.  If you’re scouring your local spirit seller, you’re apt to realize quite quickly that this is not a distillery that boasts a very high profile.  It is however one from which it is imperative to track down whisky at some point in any acolyte’s never ending whisky journey, as I’ve tried some rather special Linkwoods over the years.

Additionally, for a wee bit of fun (at least for this whisky geek), this release is the first independent bottling I’ve ever tried by Wemyss Malts.  If this malt is any indication, Wemyss and I should have a long and happy future together.

Truth in advertising for a change?  Wow.  Novel idea.  The ‘nickname’ on the bottle is a misnomer by no means.  This is indeed a citrus burst of a dram.  Don’t expect a tart lambasting of the taste buds, however (or an astringent nasal spiking).  This is actually a much softer whisky than the name would belie, bringing a very well-rounded attack and what I can only imagine would be almost universal appeal.  Light…fragrant…infinitely sippable.

A great start to the calendar, and the Christmas season.

Nose:  Cinnamon and ginger.  Citrus notes, as we’d expect with a name like this.  Maybe orange and lemon zests.  Trifle-like dessert notes.  Lemon muffins.  Slightly floral.  Perfumed, even.  Cranberry jelly.  Almost ‘Lowland’-ish.  Spice pantry.  Nice nose, in all.  Clean, with broad appeal.

Palate:  An almost custard-like arrival.  Moves into tangy fruit filling, before the spices explode.  There are some strong bread/grain notes that serve to remind just what the heart of this drink really is.  Syrupy canned fruits.  Finishes on notes of grains…like chewing raw barley.  Sweet and lovely.

Thoughts:  A sort of ‘old school’ malt, in its own way.  Very easy drinking though.  I can see this being a great gateway malt.  More sophistication here than you’d initially suspect.

Bonus:  My mate, Jonathan, and I are gonna blog on these drams side by side through the season.  Here’s a link to his notes on the same whisky at SingleMalting.com.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Samaroli Evolution 2011 Review

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Samaroli Evolution 20115837

45% abv

Score:  90/100

 

Arguably one of the most unique whiskies I’ve ever had the pleasure of making acquaintances with.

Evolution is a seemingly annual (or at least vintage batched) release from independent bottler Samaroli that is built on something like a Solera process (without actually being a solera vatting, you understand).  Apparently this great experiment began with the marriage of about twenty rare old single casks in a great wooden vat somewhere.  After a steeping period (my words, not theirs) of approximately six months the blended malt whisky was laid to rest in both bourbon and sherry barrels to further integrate and mature.

After this initial fateful meeting, these barrels would then be re-vatted from time to time, with a portion of the overall volume siphoned off for each new release.  Over the years, additional casks would occasionally find their way into this celestial spirit.  Effectively this process ensures the long-running and eternal DNA of the origin casks has some infinite influence in the ever-maturing malt.  Spectacular and singular.    

See the label in the bottle shot above?  Yes…those are indeed the component malts that make up this whisky.  1957 Mortlach; Springbank from 1959, 1962 and 1965; a Bruichladdich from 1964; both 1967 and 1970 Laphroaigs; a 1976 Ardbeg; some old Port Ellen; and Talisker; Longrow; Glenlivet; and on and on.  Wow.  Just…wow.

On the surface these would seem to be some pretty special barrels.  Reading those names and numbers is like a surreal trip through some of my sweetest whisky dreams.  The reality is, though, that every distillery fills dud casks from time to time, and I simply have to question whether or not some of these barrels may have been less than first tier wood.  I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind deciding to vat away some of these individual components, when single barrel releases would most likely net them astronomical profits above and beyond what the vatting does.  The only thing arguing against my inherent cynicism is that the end result – this Evolution expression – is a damn fine drink and shows no signs of second class whiskies being ‘blended away’ within. 

At the end of the day I’ll simply take my hats off to Samaroli for creating a fine and wonderfully unique expression, and one I’ll not soon forget. 

If this is what Samaroli is bringing to the market, I can’t wait to try more.

Nose:  Raisin.  A bit of smoke.  Old books, and pipe tobacco.  A touch of leather.  Grape juice.  Rye bread and spiced dough.  Dusty dunnage warehouse and a faint flinty-ness.  Licorice root.  Coffee.

Palate:  Almost tastes like a bit of wine-cask influence at work here, though I know that’s not the case.  Cough syrup.  Espresso.  Apples.  Dried apricot.  Old fruitcake or fruit leather.  Moth balls (WTF?!).  Slightly nutty and almost bitter finish.  Not even remotely unpleasant though.

Thoughts:  Shows definite indications of the advanced age of its component malts.  Just smells…’old’.  Very odd profile, but I like it.  Certainly a special whisky.  A great dram, but I do mourn ‘what could have been’ in the individual casks.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Bowmore Springtide Review

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Islay2 443Bowmore Springtide

54.9% abv

Score:  88/100

 

Another whisky I tried for the first time on Islay around two years ago, give or take. 

A handful of sodden reprobates and I had just finished an unforgettable experience down in the No. 1 vaults beneath the distillery.  We were wrapping up the ‘Craftsman’s Tour’ with a couple bonus drams up in the Bowmore lounge overlooking the shores of Loch Indaal.  It was a sort of ‘pick your poison, boys’ kind of affair led by our wonderful guide Heather.  Among many other malts sampled that afternoon, this was foremost among my choices.  Not gonna lie…we were already more than a couple drams deep – a few of which were drunk directly from the cask – so I can’t promise that my senses were in any condition to properly assess the inherent quality of the malt at the time, but do I recall not being willing to drop the ~£100-150 (or whatever it was) to bring home a bottle.  That tells me I didn’t think it was all that exceptional.

And to be honest with you…I still don’t.  It is, however, an awful lot better than I recall from that intense dramming session.  That may sound like damning with faint praise, but that would be selling the whisky short.  This is actually very good stuff.  When the opportunity presented itself to revisit this oddball limited edition Bowmore (via the generous offer of a couple of friends of mine*) I leapt at it.  Sitting down with the glass once again was like being yanked back to that moment in time.  A tired group of friends…our last day on Islay…our last distillery tour on the island…and an unforgettable piece of my ‘whisky life’. 

Springtide was so named for the period when the earth, sun and moon are aligned.  Apparently that is the window in which this whisky was distilled.  I’m not sure what significance we’re supposed to believe that that concept has for this NAS Oloroso sherry cask-matured malt, but I guess we’ll concede points for originality (if not clarity and forthcomingness in marketing.  Ahem…age statement, anyone?).   

All gimmicky and shit, for sure, but still tasty.  Worth trying if you can find it.

Nose:  Sweet smoked dry fruit.  Grapes.  Sunflower seeds.  Oily.  A wee bit of tar, ash and rubber.  A tangy meatiness.  Stirfry sauce.  Citrus.  Tobacco and dried cherries.  Eucalyptus.  Some chocolate and salt taffee.  Florals emerge late and almost ghost-like.

Palate:  Spiced chocolate sauce and lapsang souchong tea.  Rum-soaked fruitcake.  Leaves quite a taste of smoke and grape skins in the mouth.  Or maybe plum skins.  Medicinal in a fruity cough syrup kinda way.  This is heavy sherry and moderate smoke.  Neat.

Thoughts:  May not be to everyone’s liking, but it works a treat for me.

*Thanks to Greg and Jarka Winters for the opportunity to try this one again.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1 Review

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Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1IMG_6363

49.2% abv

Score:  84.5/100

 

Whatever closed door deals-with-the-devil or blasphemous alchemy Jim McEwan is engaged in when concocting these Bruichladdich Black Art releases is slowly becoming a thing of whisky lore.  People love to talk about this kind of stuff.  People other than McEwan himself, that is.

Attend one of his tastings and he’ll happily tell you to naff off when pressed for details on this malt (though in that friendly affable Ileach manner).  Secrecy itself has become the sales pitch.  The hook here that gets the tongues a-waggin’ and the rumours milling is that Jim simply refuses to disclose what exactly the component barrels are that constitute these special ‘Laddie releases.  The truth may never come out, but the hallmarks of a lot of wine-cask tomfoolery are all over the end product.  No surprise, really, considering the Laddie warehouses boast legions of former wine barrels with interesting varietal names stenciled all over them.  This is almost like the secret weapon in the Bruichladdich arsenal.  They have a broader palette to work with than most other whisky makers.  While most distilleries will be maturing spirit within the confines of bourbon, sherry and perhaps port vessels, Bruichladdich can harness the influence of Château d’Yquem, Château Margaux, Cabernet Franc, Brunello, etc.  Almost an unfair advantage, in terms of pure flexibility.

The real question is, though, does it work?  In some cases, yes.  Absolutely.  In other cases…well…

Let me be frank here (cause that’s what we do).  This 23 year old is a bit of a Frankenstein show for me.  It’s not cohesive.  It’s not really pretty even, aside from the snazzy packaging, that is.  There’s some charm, sure, but you have to go deeper than the surface level in order to find it (i.e. this is not bad as a nosing whisky…but not quite so special on the palate). 

But hey…I’m just one guy.  What do I know?  I know many out there who feel differently about this whisky than I.  A lot of folks really love this drink. 

It does seem, however, that most people are either really on board with the Black Art releases, or really not on board. I probably lean more towards the latter group, while recognizing it as not a bad dram, but simply falling outside my preferred flavour camp.  As always…caveat emptor.

Nose:  Quite jammy.  Chocolate doughnuts…with chocolate glaze.  Some wine or sangria-like notes.  A touch of a salty seabreeze.  A vague whiff of suede.  Sour purple ju-jubes and wine gums.  This is a heavy, heavy dram. but I like the nose quite a bit actually. 

Palate:  Great immediate arrival, with a lot of spice and deep threads of sour dark fruits, but quickly bitters into oversaturated wine notes.  Not my thing, I must admit.  Apples and apple skins.  Like chewing on a stick of wine-soaked wood.  An odd spice note.  Touch of leather.  Faint licorice.  Like black wine gums.  Somewhat sour and punchy.

Thoughts:  A nose that shines, but a palate that only dimly illuminates.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Ardbeg Kildalton (2014) Review

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Ardbeg Kildalton (2014)043

46% abv

Score:  92/100

 

Some whiskies carry a story.  Not the marketing department fluff or the PR nonsense, mind you, but the personal tales we relate back to them.  They become sort of timeless and cherished through the memories we associate back to the opportunities we had to taste them.  Ardbeg’s Kildalton 2014 is one of those whiskies for me.

I first tried this Kildalton with a group of good friends before a great meal at a very special Ardbeg event.  Imagine an evening of brilliant peated malts, a setting sun, long limo rides, a Top Chef-catered multi-course dinner in an isolated setting and spectacular cigars to close it all out.  Fortunately, I don’t have to imagine; instead, simply remember.  I should acknowledge here that it’s truly interesting to note how many of my favorite malt memories are intertwined with drams from this incomparable Islay distillery.  Not a coincidence, I’d suggest.

This special limited one-off Ardbeg was released in order to raise money for something called The Kildalton Project.  This undertaking – sanctioned by Ardbeg (LVMH), the North Highland Initiative (NHI), and HRH Prince Charlie – is an effort to “support ‘fragile, rural communities’ across the North Highlands’.  In particular, a good portion of the funds are to be used to restore the St. Columba Village Hall in the distillery’s near-neighbouring village of Port Ellen.  Neat.  And rather admirable.

This 2014 Kildalton is not to be confused with the now-legendary 2004 release under the same appellation.  The earlier incarnation was a lightly peated dram, but at a higher bottling strength.  It is also very limited and zealously coveted by Ardbeg collectors.  While I’ve not yet tried that earlier version, I can attest that the 2014 is a stunner.  A tasteful vatting of ex-bourbon casks and new and refill sherry butts.  Simple and elegant.  I’m happy to see an Ardbeg that hasn’t been tinkered with too much.

And finally, the name of this expression – for those who may not be fully ‘in the know’ – is a tribute to the spectacular and monumental high cross of the same name at the site of the ruined Kildalton Parish Church on the Southeast end of the island.

Nose:  Smoky and briny, but soft for a contemporary Ardbeg.  Vaguely Laphroaig-ish (Hmmm…slightly more than ‘vaguely’, actually).  Lemon squeezed over oysters on the half shell.  A little bit of lime and chocolate too.  Quite coastal and oceanic.  Salty and peppery.  Fennel.  Green Jolly Ranchers.  All told, though…quite soft and creamy dessert-like (think Airigh Nam Beist vanilla notes).

Palate:  Gentle arrival.  Anise.  Wet rock.  Briny shellfish.  Smoke.  Poached pear.  Lemon pepper.  Grilled meat.  A little bit of coffee with good cream.  Good balance of peat and sweet.

Thoughts:  Great ‘pure’ Ardbeg.  This is Ardbeg the way it should be served up.  Austere and classy.  The only way I would have tweaked this one would have been to leave it at cask strength.  Sadly, not one a lot of Ardbeg fans will be able to try, as this release was (is?) a distillery-only exclusive release.

*Sincere thanks to our mate Andrew Ferguson for surrendering a good portion of valuable suitcase room in order to bring me back a bottle of this malt from the distillery earlier this year.  Slainte!

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt