[40.0%・Bottled Circa 1980s・Official Bottling・General Release]
Nose:
Soft doses of iodine and barley sugar, faint cowshed and haystack notes leading way to pear lollies seasoned with ginger and pepper, powdery and dusty with the ashy element.
Palate & Finish:
Slightly on the dry side with just a wee sweetness from the malt. The peppery tar eventually allows notes of citrus and passionfruit to come through, though the dry spices and charred toast make an early entrance.
Shades of flowing light honey and beeswax, chewy whisky tablets to go with fading seaweed and peat.
Thoughts:
Aye, the fantastic nosing exhibits all those little traits one would have hoped to find in an Ardbeg from this era and more! But in retrospect though perhaps it is foreboding of the dram’s shortcomings at 40%.
The delivery unfortunately doesn’t quite live up to expectations.. just a bit thin for things to really develop dramatically and to put it rather harshly it’s slightly anti-climatic..
Still, on nosing alone, this is one for those who have tragically fallen under the spell of vintage Ardbeg..
☆ [Recommended]
-Nicholas
WhiskNick 