Ardbeg - the finest malt whisky in the world?
Given that one respected whisky writer considers this distillery’s produce to be so good that he has to artificially handicap it in his tasting scores, this one has a lot to live up to.
Ardbeg 10 year old, 46%
A new bottle; always interesting to open a bottle for the first time and get the first impression. Some of them seem to explode into the atmosphere, announcing their arrival with fanfares so you immediately know what they are. Others creep up on you slowly, insinuating themselves into your awareness. Slightly to my surprise this Ardbeg falls into the latter category. The smell of the cork is very light and subtle.
Colour
I was further surprised to find that it was a very pale yellow. From recent experience of buying it in the bar of the Royal Overseas League I expected it to be darker, especially since it has a reputation of being peaty; our visually oriented expectations tell us that peat and dark go together. Not so this time.
Nose
Like the 12 year old Caol Ila the initial nose is subtle and complex. Greenery, touch of iodine and phenol. Leaving it a few minutes (difficult but we must be professional about this!) produces gradually more distinct notes with the phenols a little stronger. A scent appears which I can’t identify at first but later it comes to me - smoked fish! Cullen Skink has that same tang when it’s delivered to the table. Later and deeper inhalation brings more smokiness, and you can imagine yourself on an Islay beach with the mix of distant woodsmoke and fresh seaweed. The wood suggests oak chips to me although the tasting notes that I referred to later suggest hickory.
Taste
Initial taste impression
I must be getting immune to peat! (too much Talisker? nah 
) This is a far lighter peat though, and there is more of a floral overtone, although it takes a while to come through because the spirit feels stronger than its 46%. The warmth seems to stay at the back of the lips and creeps gradually back over the tongue.
Later impressions
As the air and whisky interact there comes an unexpected chocolate, surprisingly sweet against the contrasting bite of the alcohol. Later still there is a light citrus taste - somewhere between lemon and passion fruit.
After a little water
The colour becomes a very pale lemon. That chocolate note is there again, even stronger. Surprisingly the overall impression seems to become warmer and in a curious sense stronger. The reduction of the spirit strength seems to allow the volatile oils to escape into the taste amalgam. This is not at all what I expected, because as I’ve mentioned previously I generally prefer my whisky at full strength.
Conclusion
Ardbeg is by reputation a very balanced whisky, and I can certainly agree with that, though it’s a very different balance to the Caol Ila and I think I marginally prefer the way the latter’s taste components fit together. However this is one that will bear continued acclimatisation. Like the Bruichladdich I reviewed earlier there is a feeling that it might go well with some foods, the obvious thought being to team it with a fish-based meal. I can imagine it with smoked salmon and the idea of it with kippers is intriguing.
No question that it’s a class dram. Might not be to everyone’s taste and I’ll be surprised if Mike takes to it, but if you appreciate the fishy, smoky, west coast nature of Islay malts then do try this one. So far though, my tastes edge towards the Caol Ila, but that’s hardly a condemnation and I’ll definitely be revisiting this one repeatedly to see how my perception of the balance develops.
Postscript
A few days after my first session with it I had occasion to have a dinner of lightly smoked trout so naturally I pulled out the Ardbeg to test my theory. I can confirm that the two made an excellent match and I’ll try that again in the future, perhaps switching to other Islays to see how they compare.
Bill Marshall on February 28th 2008 in tasting notes, Ardbeg, Islay, Malt Whisky, Whisky
