Ardbeg

I should add I'm a speyside guy not an islay type guy....

I find this to be quite accurate:

Ardbeg 10 is one of my favourite SMSWs. However, it's very in-your-face (pun intended). Don't get me wrong, there is subtlety there but, if you're not used to Islay peaty/smoky whiskys, then it'll be a surprise.

I'd say, if you can afford it, give it a go. I dount that you'll regret it.

Also, I'm in New Zealand and, for a while, most reasonable liquor outlets also had Ardbeg at very good prices. However, I think that it was a marketing push into foriegn countries, an introductory offer. Now that the shops that stocked it have cleared their original stock the replacement stuff is ~35% dearer.

I'm just pleased that I got a couple of bottles of Uigeadail while it was cheap. I much prefer it to the 10 y/o but it's half as expensive again. Worth it though IMO.

Cheers,

If you like a peaty dram, I would highly recommend it. I drink it regularly.

Slainte!

I would second all of misfits comments above, with the exception that IMO if you're truly not an Islay guy, you'll probably be wasting your money.

-- Larry

There are nuances. I'm a heavy-duty Islay guy, and Islays are two-thirds of my cabinet, but there are a number of Speysides that I'd kill at least a distant relative for. Unless our original poster is an exclusively Speyside man -- and how could he be, since he's asking about Ardbeg? -- my advice to him is to give it a shot.

Ardbeg is assertive, peaty and smoky, but it's also one of the great Islays. If I could have only one more bottle of Islay in my life, it would have to be a Lagavulin, but Ardbeg would be a close second. (And if I could be permitted, I'll have a third and a fourth, and so on.) You won't be able to say you tried it until you've tried it. And what sadder admission than, "I never tried the Ardbeg?"

Thats a motto for the living of life, Bill !

Fantasic!

Now, I wonder where those twins I went to college with are these days :-)

More seriously, if you drink whisky you need to have an Ardbeg at some point. Its very good indeed

Sure, but why buy a bottle, rather than trying it in a bar?

-- Larry ('74 Ardbeg 18 over any other Islay for me...)

No objection here. I rarely buy a malt in a bar myself because the prices are usually through the ceiling, so it's not the first thing that comes to my mind.

I used to see Bushido and the other ancients who once dwelled here raving over the '75 and '76 and later, the Lord of the Isles. Never had the pleasure, unfortunately. And they're exceedingly expensive collectors' items now.

I just figured, if he was asking, and he thinks the price is reasonable, it's an experience that I doubt he'd regret. He might not buy another bottle but it would give him some reference-points, tastes to judge other SMSWs against. I don't think there are many distilleries making SMSWs that I'd considered buying a bottle of to be 'wasting your money'. (Especially if I had more money. )

Cheers,

Out of curiousity, what Speysides would those be then? I'm a 'heavy-duty Islay guy' as well but am open to new experiences.

Aye, that would be sad indeed.

Cheers,

Thanks for all the opinions people.

In my part of Canada we have "government" run alcohol/liquor shops. I was arong about the price of Ardbeg. I said it was $68.00 CDN but it's $99.99. Not the value for a 10 year old islay I orginally thought it was but still a reasonable price, I think considering. I cannot buy the 10 year old anywhere else because only the government retails liquor and spirits here, unless I go to the USA or use the internet so I can't shope competitivly.

I have no Islay but thought about purchasing this for me to try when I have guests over who would also appreciate a fine single malt. I may not open this bottle for a few years yet.

Here is the review from the retailer's website:

ARDBEG 10 YEARS OLD THE ULTIMATE ISLAY SINGLE MALT VINTAGES 560474 | 750 mL bottle

Price: $ 99.95 Spirits, Scotch Whisky,

Made in: Scotland, United Kingdom By: Macdonald & Muir Ltd.

Release Date: Oct 25, 2008

Tasting Note [Nose:] Oily, slapped-on-all-over-with-a-trowel-peat that leaves nothing uncoated. A lovely salty tang gives an extra tweak. [Taste:] Amazing, grassy, salivating sweetness of the malt on one level; lip-smacking, chewy, gently oiled peat on another ... [General comment:] Close your eyes and enjoy. Score - 94. (Jim Murray, Whisky Bible, 2007)

The Aberlour 10 is pleasant, but the Aberlour a'bunadh is a killer. It is to sherry what Ardbeg is to peat.

I like the Balvenie Doublewood, don't mind the Macallan, quite enjoyed the Longmorn. I'd offer any of them to friends with not-too-adventurous palates.

The peated Benriach is nice. I have heard great things about Mortlach, but haven't seen it at a price that's within my budget. I want to try Glen Rothes sometime soon.

This is by no means an exhaustive list; there are many, many more I haven't tasted.

bill van schrieb:

Try to get a rum-finish Benriach, it's fantastic. This is one ;-)

Andreas

Nice shot, Andreas. I will keep an eye open for it.

"The Henchman" skrev i melding news:h0hq7m$mfe$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org...

A bit surprising... In notoriously heavy-taxed Norway the price is 86CDN for

I'm actually currently drinking that stuff myself. A nice dram - but there are others in the same league, Laphroaig Quarter Cask for instance. Anders

Hmmm -- there's actually a town named Ardbeg in Canada (Ontario)!

-- Larry