If Ardbeg Would Release a 21 Year Old – Would it be Like This?

As day 3 of the Whisky Show was drawing to an end, I stopped by the Douglas Laing stand do say goodbye to Cara and Chris. Cara took my glass, and poured a straw colored dram into the glass, handing it back.

One sniff made it clear – this is an Ardbeg. Like the 10, it came from a clean bourbon cask. But deeper…much deeper than the 10, though unmistakably Ardbeg.  I never had an Ardbeg 17, but this is sort of what I imagined.

This was a dream dram, requiring a token during the show.

Photo Credit: masterofmalt.com

Photo Credit: masterofmalt.com

Douglas Laing Old Particular Ardbeg 21 (48.6% ABV, NCF, NC)

Appearance: Light straw, quick legs with lots of residue droplets.

Nose: Light peat, some mineral notes, but pretty soft compared to the 10, vanilla, the dram smells very creamy with notes of powdered doughnuts.

Palate: You get the honey just before the peat comes in. As the whisky gets to the back of the mouth you get a fresh spray of lemon with some pepper in a full bodied delivery.

Linger: Sweet peat in the mouth and peppery spice in the throat, with a small note of lemon.

Conclusion

Balanced and full bodied, this is a very creamy dram. Very much an Ardbeg, with the 10’s DNA, only on steriods.

This is exactly what I would expect from an official Ardbeg 21 year old release!

 

One comment on “If Ardbeg Would Release a 21 Year Old – Would it be Like This?
  1. I like Ardbeg!
    This one sounds good….

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