A phenomenal whisky packing powerful peaty deliciousness, Ardbeg 10 Year Old is a favourite of many whisky lovers around the world. Produced on the Kildalton Coast of Islay, this single malt matures for a decade before being bottled without any chill-filtration. If you're after a whisky full of coastal air, smoke and more, this is exactly what you want.
A ridge of vanilla leads to mountain of peat capped with citrus fruits and circled by clouds of sea spray.
Sweet vanilla counterbalanced with lemon and lime followed by that surging Ardbeg smoke that we all know and love.
Long and glorious; sea salted caramel and beach bonfire smoke.
Precise balance, big smoke and non-chill filtered. This is why this is such a famous dram.
I'm trying it this very moment for the first time. I'm reasonably new to whisky, but this is a very nice dram to drink. A sweet nose and a lovely smoky taste that lasts. It does taste a little burnt plasticky, but not in a bad way... After reading the reviews, I'm going to have to try Laphroaig for comparison.
This is not a bad whisky, but I personally see no reason to pick it over say a Laphroaig, which in my location is cheaper and offers a stronger and more coherent flavor. The Ardbeg 10 has a slight "rubbery" undertone which I don't like. I can see how some people might interpret this as a facet of "smokiness", but I just interpret it as the flavor of bandaids, unfortunately. As for the good, there are indeed the peaty spice and smoke, oaky vanilla, hints of citrus, and some sea saltiness... but I can get these same flavors, with a bit more smoke and less rubber, from Laphroaig.
not a scotch drinker, let alone islay scotch. Became "curious" after my boys birthday dinner, when all we were buying him shots of laphroaig. Got ardbeg 10, lagavulin 16, and laphroaig 10 cask strength. here is my review of ardbeg 10... No escape glass so I used a big wine glass. Pour a bit and swirled and let breath for two minutes...for me I take a breath and hold my breath and sip a drink and exhale... it smelled peaty and a bit of iodine out of bottle. After letting it breath. it smelled like after taste of plain grits, followed by smoky smell of rubbing alcohol... The color a little light a and not as thick. For me it tasted like light whiskey with smoky "islay" taste and a dry finish that hints a taste of iodine. I like it, but definitely a lighter and drier taste amongst the three. To get an unbiased taste you have to go in with a biased approach of "this is what islay scotch taste like". if you like mellow light color scotch that a little dry...you might like ardbeg 10. if you like crown royal, that what it taste like, a islay crown royal that is not as sweet as crown but a lot more peaty... 8 out of 10.
My experience is similar to the 'Marmite' post below - the wife says why don't I just gargle with TCP as it's cheaper and healthier, but I adore the smoke and peaty aroma of Islay Whisky with Ardbeg 10yo and Oogy the kings in my opinion
Lovely lovely Whisky. A bit more firey than lagavulin and Laphroaig. ...in my humble opinion. But full of peat, salt and all that is good.
