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.
On the nose agressivelly peaty and smoky with distinct vanilla and oakiness. Some complex aromas can be noted such as faint fruitiness. On the palate it is fullbodied briny and still smoky from intense peatiness. Water addition intensifies sweetness. Aftertaste is long and still smoky.
One of my favorites one
I love the peat/smoke flavor expression in a scotch, and Ardbeg is my favorite brand along those lines. Within the brand, Uigeadail stands as my ultimate variety of choice, but is not an everyday dram for me at its typical price point. That's where the Ardbeg 10-year comes in. For my tastes and wallet, it's about as close to an ideal baseline Islay as I can find. Just a lovely drink that allows me to experience all of my favorite scotch pleasures, whenever I desire them. Always sipped neat, with two drops of spring water and about ten minutes to open up a bit. A masterpiece of both flavor and value.
This is my go to scotch. I could drink this everyday. Great price, complexity, and smoke. Ardbeg is one of my favorite distilleries along side springbank. and are one of the few that offer great scotch, NCF, no artificial coloring, and a higher abv, all at a reasonable price.
Yes, heavily peated malts are not for everyone because everyones tastebuds aren't either developed enough or capable of appreciating the hammer blast of peaty smoky flavour this delivers. Really - some people cannot actually taste certain things never mind being able to discern complexity. I started my whisk(e)y drinking with the occasional cheap(ish) bourbon and then moved onto single malts by my early twenties (always neat). I remember gagging at what I then thought was the repulsive taste of laphroaig... Thankfully my taste has evolved allot in the last ten years (like from amoeba to homo sapiens...) and I've had the privilege of drinking some of the best regarded whiskies and cognacs. Like fine wine, whisk(e)y has its categories - in this case, peaty scotch - Ardbeg is undoubtedly the best of its kind, anyone who says otherwise isn't experienced enough or is just incapable of discerning its complexity. This whisky is truly outstanding and testament to how amazing and varied the world of whisky is. Its also worth mentioning that compared to other categories of single malt whisky Ardbeg Ten is also exceptional value, you are getting the best of its kind for a very approachable £40 a bottle.
