Ardbeg Smoketrails Manzanilla Edition

Another season, and it’s time for Ardbeg to release something no one asked for, and have it priced absurdly high. Probably released with all the might of marketing pomp and pagentry, enough to give Prince Charles envy of his own pomp and pagentry towards being a paper king. And it turns out that all that hoopla amounts to a disappointing subpar Ardbeg, leaving you to wonder “ I can’t believe I paid all that for this! Should’ve stuck with Corry, 10, or Uigi. That in a nutshell is Ardbeg. Until this one. Thanks to @Richard-ModernDrinking , I got to try this one. We had our quarterly online tasting ( we as in @pkingmartin , @ctbeck11 , and @Richard-ModernDrinking ), and this was one of the pours generously shared by Richard. I generally don’t like Manzanilla. I find it too dry. And I don’t think I’ve ever liked any whiskey finished in manzanilla. But, this was different. Yes, you get the classic Ardbeg smoke on the nose, but the palette is where it shines. Oily, ashy, Resiling wine. It’s a complex pour…salinity, brine, like seaweed salad, with a dose of olives and lemons. Finally! An Ardbeg release without pomp and pagentry, and actually really well made! Unfortunately, this is travel only. So, to buy this, you have to be at an international airport. But if you’re there, pick it up. I paid £70 for this on a recent trip to London. You can’t beat that value for a good Ardbeg. Thanks to Richard again for the pour!

Visual: Honey-gold; quick, thin, evenly-spaced legs. Nosing: sea brine and seaweed hits the nose immediately. Damp, musty smoke follows; a beach bonfire. Definitely harsh on the nose. After a good swirl, fruitiness and flame-grilled white fish comes through. Tasting: Heavy peat hits right away. Definitely a young whisky; hot. A bit salty with umami flavours; a very subtle Kombu. A long finish. Burnt fish skin on the back end. Reduced Nosing: upon adding water, smoke dissipates somewhat. The harsh alcohol scent also lessens. Much more fruitiness comes through: charred apple and pear. Reduced Tasting: adding water makes the dram incredibly smooth. Still salty, but sweetness comes first. Smoked walnut hits the back end. Honestly, a pretty complex dram for one so young; however, and unfortunately, water is definitely a must to make this dram much more enjoyable.

The nose is peaty yet sweet with creamy oak. Touches of leather, smoke and brine follow. It's pretty typical Ardbeg, but with more subtlety and smoothness. The palate is light As it starts with a burst of pepper that gives way to the mouth being filled with peat, smoke, leather and creamy oak. It is fairly simple and straightforward, and exceptionally easy to sip. The finish is medium long and peppery with a lingering creamy oak. The barrel finishing doesn't exactly add much in the way of sweetness, but rather adds smoothness. It could maybe stand to be a bit more pronounced however that doesn't take away from how simplistically tasty this is.

Nose Deliciously fruity and sweet, lemon, the nexessary sweetness, ashy smoke, creamy, sugared and dried light fruit, vanilla, also a pinch of coffee, briefly also banana, light spice that joins the smoke , white gummy bears, also a brief hint of chocolate Taste Smooth and sweet as Ardbeg should be, delicious smoke, burnt waffle, sweet fruit, burnt cake batter, vanilla, gummy bears again, with jelly filling, pineapple, peach I am a big fan of Ardbeg so i feel its amazing for its price Finish Ash, mint, fresh, sweet with a light tingling foavour at the end, pleasant, fills the entire mouth, the pineapple n thr finish is a nice surprise.

This is the best Arbeg I have ever had, and I have tried 6 so far. This special edition is available in travel shopes only. The peat and smoke you come to expect from the normal Arbeg is more balanced with sweetness on the back end. A must buy in my opinion.

Nose - briny, meaty, chemicalish, thick and reminds of a typical islay style. Tongue - sweet and savory, a surprise hit of smoke and a lasting smoke finish. It fits its namesake. Finish us short though. A very different experience.