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Colour: Polished brass, bright gold.
Nose: Fresh and pungent. The first impression is for sure the one of peat, so strong it is hard to identify as such. More like wood preservative or a freshly painted garden fence in the high noon sun. But soon after the second or third sniff there’s a whole new world to discover: Citrus peel, freshly minced mint leaves, tar, salt sticks, violin raisin, spicy oil (linseed or even machine oil) and black tea. I think every sniff reveals another new impression (also like the colour: polished brass). A very mesmerizing and busy even nervous nose, every assiciation with the term “peaty” seems to show up.
Taste: Again pungent and very intense. More than 60% are laying heavy and a bit paralyzing on your tastebuds. But now it is far more like a regular peaty whisky and still very intense: Leather, smoke, black pepper and dead cigarette butts. With water (You can add much of it and it is still a very intense whisky) there is also a very delicate fruity bitterness (grapefruit) and some forest herbal notes: Earth moss, wood mushrooms, waldmeister and cranberries.
Finish: More than the average long, after a good while the cheeks feel still contracted, a feeling like chewing on black pepper seeds together with a fine herbal / fruity bitterness (Angostura) remains and remains.
Conc.: A great experience for every Islay or peat lover and a challenge for every connaisseur.
A complete new dimension of the word “peated”: Here seems every so far known connection with this term included. But (there has to be a “but”) it is not easy to “enjoy” this dram...
Tasting date: 16/07/2010
Price in Germany: 80 Euro (in this offer was a mini bottle of Ardbeg 10 included)
2010