by Oliver Klimek on March 12, 2010
Buy at the Whisky Exchange
General Release – 57.1%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: Bright amber
Nose: Smoked bacon, honey, vanilla, apples
Palate: Peat, caramel, vanilla, a vague fruitiness, pepper, minmally bitter
Finish: Very long, smoky and slightly sweet
Overall: Some prefer it over the Rollercoaster, but I think it has a certain lack of oomph that is not really made up by greater complexity or better balance. Still very good though, mind you.
Score: 86/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on March 11, 2010
2010 Committee bottling – 57.3%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: White wine
Nose: Very intense, smoky, slightly medicinal, sea shore, lemon, orange
Palate: Peat, liquorice, salt, lemon peel, ginger, a bit of honey
Finish: Very long, dry, smoky and a bit salty
Overall: The Rollercoaster received slightly mixed reviews, but I really like it. The vatting of 10 vintages gives is an astonishing complexity. Overall character is rather dry compared with the standard 10yo
Score: 90/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
Side note: Read about the launch problems in Ardbeg’s online shop.
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Rating: 8.0/10 (2 votes cast)
by Oliver Klimek on February 23, 2010
Buy at the Whisky Exchange
Vatting of three ages and three peat levels – 46%
My Tasting Notes:
Color: White wine
Nose: Fireplace, Atlantic jetty, oranges
Palate: Peat, a basket of citrus fruit, vanilla, seaweed, just a little sugar and a little salt
Finish: Very long, peaty and fruity
Overall: A very nice vatting, quite peaty but the typical Laddie fruitiness is always present.
Score: 86/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on January 27, 2010
3 yo – 46%
My Tasting Notes:
Nose: Camp fire, farmyard, sea breeze, citrus fruit
Palate: Peat, salt, very fruity, a bit musty
Finish: Quite long, fruity peat
Overall: It’s still very immature but shows a lot of promise for the future. Too close to newmake to be fully enjoyable for me at this stage of maturation.
Score: 73/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 7.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on January 25, 2010
54.2%
My Tasting Notes:
Nose: Intense nose of peat and smoked ham, with water, notes of dried fruit emerge
Palate: Very peaty, smoked bacon, but also chocolate, caramel and raisins
Finish: Very long with a smoky sweetness
Overall: A powerful dram where a bit of sherry successfully underlines the typical Ardbeg flavour profile
Score: 91/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 9.5/10 (2 votes cast)
by Oliver Klimek on January 23, 2010
43%
My Tasting Notes:
Nose: Slightly smoky, bacon, cherries, chocolate
Palate: Some peat, ripe berries, toffee, a bit watery though
Finish: Long, fruity and smoky
Overall: Fruitier than its 15 yo successor but less complex, still a good whisky though
Score: 85/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 8.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on December 22, 2009
24 yo from 1978 – 59.35%
My Tasting Notes:
Nose: Quite “farmy” at first, compost and even a trace of manure, with water it becomes smoky and maritime
Palate: Medium peat, tropical fruit, a hint of coconut and a pinch of salt
Finish: Extremely long, salty fruity peat
Overall: This is an extremely complex malt with aromas that seem to come and go in waves during time. Flavours are so concentrated that you could delay it 1:1 with neutral spirit, water it down to drinking strength and still have an excellent dram. It must be celebrated rather than just drunk.
Score: 94/100 – No price information as this is a collector’s bottle
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on December 1, 2009
Buy at the Whisky Exchange
43%
My Tasting Notes:
Nose: Predominantly smoked ham, but also some seaweed and a hint of dark berries
Palate: Peat punch at first, then it gets a bit sweeter and fruitier, even traces of chocolate and honey can be tasted.
Finish: Very long, fruity peat
Overall: The epitome of an Islay malt, smoke, peat, fruit, sweetness, Lagavulin has it all.
Score: 90/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 8.6/10 (8 votes cast)
by Oliver Klimek on November 9, 2009
Bourbon Wood – 46%
My Tasting Notes:
Nose: Strong and smoky, citrus fruit, sea shore
Palate: Lots of peat and lots of vanilla, some lime or grapefruit, a little nutmeg
Finish: Endless, smoky and slightly spicy
Overall: This is a fantastic dram. Strong peat perfectly balanced with strong vanilla. almost no sweetness in here and only a little fruit.
Score: 93/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)
by Oliver Klimek on November 4, 2009
Duncan Taylor Rare Auld – 52.4%
My Tasting Notes
Nose: Slightly smoky, somewhat fruity, notably black currant
Palate: Quite peaty, lots of mint, chocolate, some bitterness
Finish: Long and smoky with a fruitiness that reminds me a bit of gummi bears
Overall: A very untypical sherried whisky. I don’t like this one very much. The strong mint notes and the bitterness turn me off.
Score: 74/100 – Price Tag $$$$$ – Value for your Money $$$$$
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Rating: 7.0/10 (1 vote cast)
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