Category | Scotch |
Region | Scotland, Scotch |
Brand | Ardbeg |
Alcohol/vol | 46.4% |
Ardbeg Twenty Something 22Yr Committee Release 2018 750ml
$1,224.98 $1,041.23
Return to the Ardbeg distillery 22 years ago and uncover Ardbeg’s extraordinary spirit with this rare whisky. A sumptuous dram bursting with hints of – fresh green apples, vanilla toffee, and aniseed wed beautifully with Ardbeg’s distinct peat and smoke. This superb bottling is from only a handful of casks laid down during a precious time when the distillery’s future hung in the balance.
Colour
Pale, moonlit gold. (One suspects the ex-bourbon barrels were second, possibly even third fills).
Nose
Peat is evident, but it’s restrained, as you’d expect for a whisky for this age. In truth, the nose has some commonalities with a good Bowmore…it’s slightly maritime, with sea spray, saline, and coastal notes, but there’s also hints of fruits.
Palate
Sweet on first sip and “darkly” peaty, mixed with more traits of the sea: Squid ink, sea urchin, and also potato skins. Texturally, it’s a lighter Ardbeg – more peaty than smoky, the peat is rich and deep, but it’s silky and refined, rather than brash or bombastic. There are doughy notes – perhaps fresh white bread rolls? – which give way to light fruits, namely rockmelon (cantaloupe) and orange citrus peel. An undercurrent of vanilla sweetness never strays too far from the action.
Finish
Humbugs and licorice mints portray the sweetness initially, but the sweetness slowly transforms into a green bitterness, perhaps like eating raw vegetables. The peat stays constantly brooding on the tongue, and the soft undercurrent of smoke, fruit, and vanilla leaves a welcome footprint behind.