A whisky of great depth with a lovely bitterness of cocoa and coffee combined with classic Ardbeg oily peatiness & marine influences of its namesake. If I can raise any criticism it is only that the nose promises more than the palate maybe deliver in this expression. 87/100
Reasonable more enjoyable than the Limited Release at 46% ABV, this doesn’t require any water and is perfectly drinkable neat. A greater intensity to the chocolate and surprisingly more obvious fruity element, the other flavours are variants on a theme but are just packaged together better here. 89/100
Ardbeg’s peaty beast of a spirit has been truly tamed in this single cask expression. The Hogshead has worked masses of sweet and creamy vanilla into this whisky, however a slightly metallic tang remains that could have arisen in the original distillate? The result is hugely drinkable even though the peat influence is still prominent, it is smooth and approachable and I could easily drink a lot more of this if I had too (or if I had it!) 88/100
Initially this seems a little more refined than the standard version at 46.5% ABV, with a much deeper and darker presentation of flavours. Despite this I found it impossible to choose a favourite between the two editions. 84/100
Slightly lighter in the palate than expected from the nose and colour, perhaps a little youthful and zesty in places, not as much sherry influence as say the Ardbeg Uigeadail expression. 84/100
Minty, subtle peat as it has been tempered by a long maturation in a sadly very underactive cask – there are almost hints in here of freshly sawn wood and sawdust. 74/100
Wow! What a wonderful expression this has really taken on some cask influence in its short 8 year maturation. This adds a wonderful fruity sweetness to that smoked meat quality from the Ardbeg spirit. Like a single cask version of the Uigeadail expression (see our reviews of the 2012 and 2014 bottled expressions here). A little rough around the edges but this just feels like cigar smoke in the mouth. 90/100
Lovely nose on this expression, with a nice stewed fruit compote element. Powerful palate, always a delight from such pale whisky. Accomplished and well constructed classic Ardbeg with a gentle twist. 90/100
Considering the peating level this is actually quite easy-going,redolent of vanilla milkshake in the beginning then explodes into all sorts of flavours as the peat and phenolics hit the palate, long, sweet zesty peat and shellfish stand out making this unmistakably Ardbeg. 87/100
Another beautiful single cask example from Ardbeg, full of fruity, tannic and leather qualities from a long ex-sherry butt maturation. This expression really highlighted just how superior the preceeding 1974 Bourbon cask matured expression was. Although in essence this Ardbeg would normally fit my flavour profile, I found it perhaps overly dark fruity with little chocolate or nut influences (so I suspected ex-Oloroso) cask and almost a little too much ageing, even so this scored extremely highly as it really was a supreme whisky. If I had the choice (and money!) I think I would have bought 2 of the 1974 cask bottles instead though! 93/100
The Whiskyphiles 