Ardbeg 15 Year Old

Ardbeg 9 Year Old 1996 Spirit of Scotland

Spirit of Scotland is also a label used by Gorden & Macphail, the famous bottler from Elgin (and owners of the beautiful whisky shop in that town). In this case, it is a single cask at cask strength, distilled in 1996 and bottled after 9 years in 2005. I had it before, but did not make notes then. Time to set the record straight. Hmmm,...

Score 85/100

Ardbeg 10 Year Old 75cl

The reviewed bottle, marked L10 152, has been open for over 2 years. It is 70% full. The flavours have changed relatively little over that time. Nose: relatively strong intensity peat and smoke, medium and high pitched barley malt, muted honey, and some brine. Delicious. Taste: excellent translation onto the palate; the flavours are pointed and...

Score 92/100

Ardbeg 10 Year Old

Nose: Peat, leather, caramelized plums, brine and a hint of sweet bourbon (think Basil Hayden’s more than Maker’s Mark) Palate:Lightly peated compared to some other Islays, this whiskey lets the malted barley shine through. As with other peated whiskies, there are definite notes of licorice and iodine. Finish:Despite it’s astringent mouth feel,...

Score 60/100

Ardbeg Rollercoaster

Ardbeg Rollercoaster 57.3% Colour: Straw Legs: Admirable The nose. Peat. Obviously. That lovely peat that's made from licquoricey toffee apples, with a sickly sweet twist that might slightly cloying to some? Smoke and raisins rubbed on banana skins. Ignore the Ardbeg hype, the fanboys and the haters. Sit up. Take the biggest lungfuls you can...

Score 80/100