Nose: Signature Ardbeg sweet citrus peat smoke with grilled lemons and a salty Mezcal-like aspect to the smokiness. Earthy vegetal and light fruit notes (pineapple, gooseberry) when watered. Palate: Sweet citrus and fresh root ginger arrival. White grapes in the development and lots of twiggy bracken smoke. In the later development the vegetal peat smoke and yellow berries noted in the nose come forward, particularly with reduction. The texture has good density but is syrupy rather than oily. Finish: Medium/Long. Woody smoke, ash and briney vegetal notes. Classic Ardbeg sweet citrus in the aftertaste along with a maritime tinge. A good but somehow "ho-hum" Ardbeg. There’s nothing at all wrong with it but it’s just another offering in the endless range of NAS whiskies they are bottling nowadays. You can’t possibly hate this kind of stuff (Ardbeg is always at least “good” in my book) but I’d still rather have a bottle of the 10 year old core-range any day, and frankly a lot of Laphroaig and Lagavulin options would be even more welcome. Tasted from a free pour at the distillery, 17th April, 2025 “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)
About this bottle
This limited edition release from Ardbeg honors 25 years of the Ardbeg Committee, the brand's international fan club. Formed in 2000, the membership is over 200,000 followers worldwide and its members are keen to ensure that the doors of Ardbeg never close again. On Ardbeg Day 2023, a select group of the Committee helped to give their input at the distillery in a tasting called "Operation Smokescreen." Included in the bottling are single malts aged in PX sherry casks combined with roasted malt spirit matured in bourbon casks. Bottled at 52.2% ABV, it's available February 2025. (SRP $84.99)
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 5 parsed reviews.
Nose: berry, mango, soft peat, light brine, hint of mint. The peat is more vegetal with a little smoke. Palate: nice syrupy texture. The berry on the nose takes a backseat to the vegetal peat and briny flavors. The berry mixes with orange and vanilla sweetness up front, then gets carried away by the peat. There's a flash of mint chocolate in the mix. In the end, vegetal, briny with a little ash to round out the finish. The empty glass has iodine and bandaid. Overall pretty good, with the standout features to me being the nose and texture. This is enjoyable whisky, but as with what seems like most of the special releases in recent years, this seems inferior to the core lineup. It sells at a discount to Corryvreckan's current price, but the Corry is a much better whisky. Uigeadail can be found locally for a little less, and again it's a much better whisky. I don't have the 10 on hand, but I'm not sure it's not better, and it goes for much less around here. 3.5 - 3.75 range for me.
Nose smoky peaty Mouth oil smoky Finish spice peat
Typ ardbeg nothing special aber lecker
Delightful
Tastes like this
Same style and price bracket, best rated first.
