Ardbeg 25 Year

849.99 was the purchase price, figured that'd be a first. Been a while since I wrote something here, been doing a lot of reviews with mike on top shelf whisky but this needs a formal slow form written review. Nose - When I first came into this it came off fairly closed (this is a neck pour) with a good bit of earthy almost clay and some waxy elements were in play. The fruity lemon lime that I was expecting was nowhere to be found. As it is opening, some of that lemon is coming out but still not boldly. However, when I really stick my nose it and really breath in the whisky, things take a change. Lemon pie and custard comes out. Very nice combination of good sweetness backed almost perfectly with citrus and sour fruits (it's mostly lemon). The whole profile is medicinal with peat never over powering but never leaving things alone. There's light coal smoke, slightly bitter at the finish. I'm not sure ardbeg could have done a 25 year with I presume all bourbon casks and this not have been exactly what we all expected. Perhaps that's a disappointment given our desire for a surprise, but this is what a 25 year ardbeg at 46% was always going to nose like. I would say the intensity is a bit below my expectations. Oh, a bit of twirling and I'm getting keylime pie all of a sudden, wow. That's a yummy new note. Water ever so slightly brings out more citrus notes. Taste - The first thing that really jumps out, there's huge oak in this one. Sweet, smokey, oak really drives the flavors as I swirl it around in my mouth. From there medicinal smoke fills my mouth with menthol notes as well. Finally settling into a nice seasoned bourbon oak cask sweet and oak linger on the tongue. Water didn't really do much. So now to put my head around what this whisky is and what to score it. Maybe some final notes? Or better yet vs the 22 year? The 22's nose is bigger, bolder, stronger, more fruity and a bit less oaky. The 22 is way more lemon, more bitter. The 25 is more silky sweet, more vanilla, more oak, and the finish is more like a french oak with malt ball chocolate notes. I expect the 25 will open up into a masterful whisky and much like I found the 22 a bit soft and light at first, i expect this 25 will really open up with some time and air. For now and for this pour. This is a 4.0. I just read the bottle, wow I used a lot of ardbeg's notes more or less. Pouring a second glass to contemplate this one with it being my first time with it. You know that soap note they mentioned, yeah smoke and char around some soap, it's there. So for me this is a bit more oaky and a bit more bitter with that soap element than I think really suit my profile. But that creamy opening is wonderful. This whisky also just needed to be no less than 48%, it's just too thin. The arrival just desperately needed more, especially with this type of soft creamy flavor up front. The finish is however big enough, bold enough, and it leaves wonderful smoke on it. I suspect if I were to rate it out of 100 for the channel I'd be debating between an 89 and a 90. The finish is that of a 91. The flavor despite flaws is a 90. The nose is a 90-91. The mouth feel is an 87 if I'm being honest that might be high. It's not nearly as oily as the 22 but I recall the 22 being thin for almost a year and it's coming alive since. I'm going to come in for now at an 89 and will report back with time. Price? 350 dollar whisky 200 dollar packaging (I legit like the box enough where I think there's something to that number) 300 idiot tater tax? I fully expected the 25 to come off as a 450 dollar whisky so that idiot tax was more than I expected to pay.

When talking about rare whiskies, an open bottle of an Ardbeg, that has been matured for at least one quarter of a century is quite the finding. Since the release of this new 25yo expression, i have been searching for a glass of it, but it was impossible to get until the day i entered the great bar at Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. There, along other incredible findings, it was available for the humble public to drink it without having to pay for a full bottle. Bottled at 46%abv, it is the oldest age statement for an Ardbeg these days. The only other 25yo expression that existed before this one, was the mythical "Lord of the Isles", a whisky that i have been seeking but i never found. On the nose, it took a long time to fully open. Cardamom, red chilli and Ardbeg's traditional peat. Acid prunes, a pair of new socks and floral notes. It has an orange aroma that i find so rare for an Ardbeg. It is like a pair of wet converse shoes. A little dim, not too clean and lacking some emotion. On the palate, it starts with vanilla and a note that i can describe as muddy water. Acid prunes, earthy and herbal. Spices and smoke on the second sip; salt. Grassy and herbal. Aftertaste was too straightforward, but rewarding. A classic note of a can of new tennis balls. Red chilli and salt. Overall, i was a little underwhelmed by this one. It is not a bad whisky by any means, but for a thousand dollars, you expect complexity, layers of aromas and flavors, but that does not occur here. This one feels like it has lost the smokey profile and the power that you know from this distillery, and that is something that i have been noticing in old Ardbegs, and this one is no exception to that rule. I truly believe that younger expressions are better. My score for it is a honest 89 over 100.

Nose is sweet cereal grains, Special K, Frosted Flakes, any artificial sweetener, some strawberry after a little time. No smoke on the nose. Palate is sweet and fruity, raspberry preserves on dry toast, strawberries and fig becomes dark chocolate covered cherries that linger for minutes before a clean, very slightly astringent, close. A very nice drink, and I’d be happy to have a bottle of this, presuming I hadn’t paid for it.

Elegant salty smoke perfect with oysters. Nose: Honey, Iodine, Sea Shells, Salted Cod, Papayas, Peaches, Cherries, Barbecue Ribs, Oranges, Almonds, Fruit Punch Palate: Smoke, Peaches, Vanilla, Grapefruits, Mangoes, Pineapples, Cherries, Almonds, Coal, Tar Finish: Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, Coal, Salted Cod, Brine, Salted Caramel, Oysters

Leaps and bounds better than ardbeg 19. Such an unbelievably juicy and creamy taste, while also being heavily peated. Far more peated than i would have expected for a 25 year. Incredible pour that goes down veeery easy.

Orchard and vegetation on the nose. Subtle smoke. Oily and mellow on the palate. Subtle but pleasant. Mild peat on the finish. Certainly enjoyable, hardly worth the price for most.