Octomore 10.1 Whisky Review!

Part 1 of 4 in my in-depth look at the recently arrived Octomore 10-series!

The tenth series of Octomore arrived in Australia with relatively little fanfare. For such a major & exciting milestone, the new arrivals were relatively quiet until the bottles started hitting the shelves, followed by the happy punter's glamour shots inevitably being posted on social media - and I'm just as guilty there! The preceding 9-series seemed to be a bit intermittent in terms of its release & availability down under, and many of the major whisky bars, at least where I am, don't have any of those on their shelves, let alone the 10-series. Likewise quite a few retailers didn't seem to get stock of the 9-series at all, and yet here we are now with the 10th series out in full force! Sometimes that's just what happens when you're sitting on the opposite side of the planet to the (geographical and spiritual) home of peated whisky, no doubt compounded with the fact that the last few months have been absolutely devastating for the hospitality industry - there were bigger fish to fry. But the whiskies are here now, and I''m lucky enough to be reviewing all four expressions in series! The reviews of 10.1, 10.3 and 10.4 are coming to you courtesy of samples provided for review by Mark Hickey, Brand Ambassador from Bruichladdich's Australian distributor, Spirits Platform, and with the 10.2 review coming from my own bottle. I'll post each review separately in numerical order, and then sum up my thoughts on the entire series in the 10.4 review. I've been looking forward to trying these since they were first announced by the distillery in late 2019, so getting to finally scratch this itch is going to feel pretty good!

The 10th series of Octomore still carries the name 'Dialogos', which started with the 9-series and is also adorning the recently-leaked and soon to be announced 11-series, so it's probably here to stay. Dialogos is a Greek word that obviously translates to dialogue, and in Bruichladdich's usage it refers to the conversation-inspiring and debate-provoking / divisive nature of Octomore, which is hard to argue with. While the 9-series featured the usual bourbon cask-matured _.1 bottling, the travel exclusive & wine cask-influenced _.2, and the Islay barley _.3 release, it deviated from the preceding 7- and 8-series that also featured Octomore _.4 expressions that were partially matured in virgin oak. Instead the fourth bottling in the 9-series was a 10-year old Octomore, making it the third iteration of a 10-year old Octomore to date. Arguably the 10-series would've been more suited to have a 10-year old bottling in the line-up, but they've instead gone in a different direction - in typical Bruichladdich style! This time around there's the usual 5-year old and bourbon cask-matured 10.1, the travel-exclusive wine cask-finished 10.2 that we're looking at next, then the Islay Barley 10.3 which for the first time is now six years old rather than five, and the 10.4 Virgin Oak release - but with a major difference over the previous two virgin oak bottlings. While both very delicious, neither 7.4 nor 8.4 were 100% fully-matured in virgin oak casks, while the new Octomore 10.4 is now a 3-year old whisky, the youngest Octomore ever released (but with no reduction in pricing, unfortunately), and it has been fully-matured in casks made from heavily-toasted virgin French oak. From what I've read so far it seems to be quite a polarising whisky, more so than Octomore always is, so it promises to be very interesting!

We'll naturally start these reviews with the _.1 expression, which is also where any Octomore newcomers should start before they dive in to the deeper end of the super-heavily peated pool. These are essentially the entry-level Octomores, the baseline bottlings for each series, and they always follow the same recipe - distilled from super-heavily peated Scottish barley, usually bottled at 5-years of age - the excellent 8.1 being the only exception so far at 8-years old - and matured in first-fill American oak ex-bourbon casks. The variables are in the bottling strength, the ppm measurement on the malted barley (always using mainland peat), the distilleries those ex-bourbon casks were sourced from, and occasionally the barley variety/varieties, although that's a more recent development / evolution in the distillery's aim for utmost transparency. The _.1 bottlings are always the most numerous in numbers, a huge 42,000 bottles in the case of 10.1, and while you wouldn't exactly call any Octomore expression cheap, they are the lowest priced of each series and in my opinion always offer good value for the quality of whisky that you get in return.

In the case of Octomore 10.1, it was distilled in 2013 from Scottish Concerto barley that was peated to 107 ppm at Bairds in Inverness, which is the lowest measurement on any _.1 Octomore to date, but don't go upending your desks & tables just yet - that doesn't mean all is lost. Octomores have always been about more than the numbers, with the use of mainland peat, plus Bruichladdich's long fermentation, tall stills and slow distillation, among other things, all affecting just how peaty the final whisky is - and if you only look at the numbers in comparison to some other whiskies, Octomores are often something of a contradiction. Yes, the tenth series is probably going to be lighter in peat & smoke than some of those that came before it, but that's OK - it's really all down to natural variation, and there'll still be plenty of phenolics to enjoy in these unmistakable opaque bottles. Even the distillery's own marketing materials on the 10-series states "...our new iterations explore a different realm of 'softer smoke'. We ask you to dismiss the numbers, and forget everything you think you know." Which is both really asking something and really saying something, because the Octomore line-up has always been marked by some stratospherically high numbers, and that's helped it stand out and helped this whisky get to where it is today! Octomore 10.1 was matured for those five years in first-fill ex-bourbon casks from Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Buffalo Trace & Jack Daniels, and was bottled at a considerable 59.8%. Being a Bruichladdich single malt it is of course non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. Let's get this started!

Octomore 10.1, 5-years old, 59.8%. Islay, Scotland.
Distilled in 2013 from Scottish barley peated to 107 ppm, matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks for five years, bottled 2019. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Pale gold.

Nose: Sweet, peaty & surprisingly medicinal! Tar, ink, iodine, aniseed and a deep, dank muddy peat. Over-smoked bacon with rinds, some dirty wet putty, salt-crusted oily smoked salmon, some distant pine needles with vanilla sugar syrup and fruit jube lollies.

Texture: Medium weight. Soft entry which then explodes! Very little heat for the age & strength.

Taste: Syrupy sweet entry with those sugary fruit jube lollies, then a big burst of dry chilli spice and pepper charred oak alongside a chunk of muddy, earthy peat. More of that smoked fish, iodine, and some charred lemon, plus a slight rubbery note with more aniseed and some old-style cough drops.

Finish: Long length. Spicy initially with black pepper, clove and dried chilli, then more chunky muddy peat and iodine, and a little more lemon. Then more distant pine needles, gingery charred oak and permanent marker pen (nikko pen).

Score: 4 out of 5.

Notes: Yet another great _.1 Octomore, with one hell of a nose! It's really surprisingly medicinal and all very Islay - and it's made with mainland peat, remember! One of the many surprising contradictions in whisky, the natural alchemy side of things, that is all part of the fun and helps to always keep things interesting. Octomore 10.1 will easily sit alongside the biggest, boldest whiskies that Southern Islay can muster - but as always it'll also stand apart. It certainly doesn't feel like the lowest ppm Octomore to date - which shows exactly how much weight those ppm figures carry: not much at all! It's quite a complex whisky overall, but it's also a drier, more medicinal and spicy (but not harsh or hot) style that is more 'Islay' than I remember the last few _.1 Octomores being. Which is of course no bad thing - this really rocks my boat!

These _.1 Octomores really are dependably great quality whiskies that always offer plenty of peat, plenty of flavour and plenty of power, and no two are really alike. You really do 'gotta catch (and taste) them all! This is a must-try for any Islay lover, as with all Octomore in my book. And if you're just settling in to higher strength peated whiskies and are looking to level up, 10.1 will certainly scratch that itch!

Cheers!

Ardbeg Blaaack Committee Release Whisky Review!

Yes, it's finally here... And it's almost Ardbeg Day, so let's not waste any time!

Ardbeg Day is less than a week away now (May 30), and while there won't be any major physical events or festivals happening anywhere due to some idiot taking an Ozzy Osbourne impression too far, it still seems like a good occasion (excuse) to enjoy some Ardbeg. The distillery will be doing some virtual tastings and other events online, but that's as close as we'll get for 2020, which also happens to be the 20th anniversary of the Ardbeg Committee. The Ardbeg Committee was formed on New Year's Day in 2000, when these fan club-types of groups - a cynic might call them mailing lists or loyalty programs - were far less common. In fact you'll now be hard-pressed to find a mainstream distillery that doesn't have some sort of member's "inner circle". Ardbeg have done a good job of it though, back in the earlier years you'd receive a booklet on joining that contained the tongue-in-cheek rules & regulations of the committee, plus good information on some of the distillery quirks, and tasting notes on the core range of whiskies, and even a temporary Ardbeg tattoo! And although it's not really the case these days, the early Committee Release bottlings were much more limited in numbers, were actually limited to committee members, and were very difficult to source otherwise. Still, it's a shame that the 20th year of this international assembly of Ardbeg-heads will largely go uncelebrated - at least in any large format. But that doesn't mean that they've pulled their punches on this year's Ardbeg Day special release!

Ardbeg & team have never shied away from experimentation and breaking new ground. And Ardbeg Blaaack is the first Ardbeg release to be fully-matured in wine casks - 2018's Ardbeg Grooves was a mix/marriage/vatting of charred wine casks & ex-bourbon casks. This time they've gone a little further afield - to New Zealand, in fact, about as far from Islay as you can get, where they sourced Pinot Noir red wine casks. The name of this release is both a nod to the grapes that said wine was made from - 'Noir' being French for 'Black' - and also the fact that New Zealand has more than it's fair share of sheep, hence the 'Blaaack'. The glass bottle itself is also black, which I believe is the first time that contemporary Ardbeg has strayed from the usual green - or the occasional clear - bottle for an official release. Pinot Noir is a dry red wine that is prevalent in the Burgundy region of southern France, but is now produced all over the world - although mainly in cooler climates like South Australia, Tasmania and southern New Zealand. It's considered a medium-bodied wine that is lighter in colour and tannins than the heavier red wines like Shiraz / Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The use of ex-Pinot Noir casks is commonplace in Australia, and does seem to be slowly on the rise in Scotch whisky, with Springbank's Burgundy cask and a couple of the Longrow Red bottlings being the more visible examples to date. While Australian whisky drinkers have come to expect a dark colour and aggressive cask influence when dealing with wine casks, it's a little different in Scotland, since unlike the vast majority of Australian distilleries they're using full-sized (225-250 litre) casks and also enjoy a cooler and more stable climate, which along with other factors contributes to slower, steadier and more balanced maturation. So this Ardbeg is far from black in colour, in fact it's visually not too dissimilar from Uigeadail or Corryvreckan, and while certainly present the wine cask influence is not dominant or aggressive - and this whisky is all the better for it, if you ask me.

Ardbeg's special releases always receive their fair share of hate, usually from the 'old guard', and the 'Day' releases often take the lion's share of that negativity. Yes, there are no age statements, the marketing is heavy and can border on annoying, and the bottling strengths are consistently getting lower with each new expression - even in the committee releases. In fact the standard versions of the Ardbeg Day bottlings seem to have settled on 46% ABV, while the committee releases are now in the low-50s - 50.7%, in this case. There's nothing wrong with that in terms of flavour of course, and I understand the economics - lower strength equals more bottles and lower excise & duties - but you could certainly argue that we're now getting less for our money with each year that passes, while the pricing continues to rise. That said, the Committee Releases are still very reasonably priced, in fact they're often priced the same as the standard version at its lower bottling strength - but you do get a box with that one. If you're lucky enough to live in a country where these Committee Releases are made available at all, and are quick enough to beat the resellers & flippers to nab your bottle before they sell out, then you're getting a good deal. Thankfully Australia is one of these lucky countries, and Moet Hennessy Australia do a commendable job of bringing these special releases to the waiting hordes of local Ardbeg fans, unlike many other Scottish distilleries who don't bother at all. As usual the Committee Release of Blaaack sold out very quickly, although there are now listings on plenty of reseller and flipper websites, while the standard version with full packaging & box and lower bottling strength will be released on Ardbeg Day.

So, Ardbeg Blaaack Committee Release, fully matured in ex-New Zealand Pinot Noir casks, is bottled at 50.7%, is non-chill filtered, and as far as I'm aware is naturally coloured - there's no obvious fake tan here, and if I recall correctly Ardbeg do not add & have never added E150a artificial colouring to their single malts, but it's not stated on the packaging. As with every year of these Ardbegs there's no information on the number of bottles in the release, of either this committee release or the standard version. Time for a dram!

Ardbeg Blaaack Committee Release, NAS, 50.7%. Islay, Scotland.
Ardbeg Day 2020 release. Fully matured in ex-New Zealand Pinot Noir wine casks. Non-chill filtered, presumed natural colour.

Colour: Amber.

Nose: Tar, aniseed & red fruits - dried raspberry, black cherry & blackberry jam. Soft warm wood smoke, rich vanilla ice cream and fresh sea salt. Drying kelp, black pepper & hessian sacking (unused bung cloth) with a little earthy peat. More time adds some sandalwood and liquorice.

Texture: Medium weight. Simultaneously rich & creamy and dirty & peaty. No heat at all.

Taste: Creamy rich vanilla ice cream, with a cherry & blackberry swirl, with a few flakes of sea salt. Delicious. Some dried red chilli, warm fresh tar and a drying ashy & spicy peat - much more present here than it was on the nose. A touch of dark chocolate mousse as well.

Finish: Long length. The peat & tar come first, plus the dried red chilli and some black pepper. It's a dirty, ashy & spicy peat here, before it fades and the dram becomes cleaner with that cherry & blackberry ice cream, some liquorice and soft wood smoke. But the tar & spicy peat are the players here.

Score: 4 out of 5.

Notes: It may not be the most complex or peaty/smoky Ardbeg ever, but it's a delicious dram nonetheless. If memory serves it's also the most berry & cherry-forward Ardbeg that I've tasted to date, which is unusual but does make sense given those wine casks are a first. The Ardbeg backbone is still there though, at least on the palate - with the dirty peat, wood smoke and tar never far away - which is a good thing. On the nose they're a little more restrained, but they're still there, although it's a brighter, fruitier Ardbeg overall. Which makes for a refreshing change really - if all of the special releases followed the same script as the core range, what would be the point? The distillery comes up with something different, which can't be easy considering it was actually in the works years prior. And this one is certainly different, but without going as far afield as some of the previous releases.

As far as rankings with the other Ardbeg Day releases, I'd have to put Blaaack somewhere around the middle. For my tastes it can't match the beauty of the Ardbog and the original Ardbeg Day bottling, and is slightly behind Grooves, but equal with Dark Cove. Which also means that it wipes the floor with Drum, Kelpie, Perpetuum and Auriverdes in my book. It's good, and it's certainly worth picking up - at close to the original pricing. As for the 46% version that lands next week, we'll have to wait and see - but based on this Committee Release, I look forward to trying it! Here's to Ardbeg day!

Cheers!

SMWS 29.143 (18 Year Old Laphroaig) Whisky Review!

I don't generally come across many "Society" bottlings, particularly for my regular whisky reviews, but an 18-year old cask strength Laphroaig was always going to get my attention!

I've tasted some impressive bottlings from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) over the years, and while major milestones like a 22-year old refill sherry cask Karuizawa (reviewed here) and a peated BBQ-sauce like Glen Scotia are memorable, there's really only one that sticks out in my mind: 33.133, an outstanding second-fill sherry cask Ardbeg that I tasted and reviewed over four years ago. Since then, and this is partly due to the lack of an active SMWS 'partner bar' here in Brisbane, I haven't stumbled across many memorable examples. That's not to say that they haven't been out there of course, they just haven't passed under my nose! But this particular dram shows all the hallmarks of being another very memorable single cask bottling. Because this is a single cask 18-year old Laphroaig, fully-matured in a refill ex-bourbon barrel, and bottled at cask strength without chill filtration or added colouring. That's virtually every box ticked on most Islay fan's wishlists. That refill ex-bourbon barrel is particularly eyebrow-raising, because the vast majority of Laphroaig's official bottlings spend most of their time in first-fill ex-Maker's Mark bourbon barrels. So this one being a refill bourbon cask promises to show more of the distillery character, but with the added point of interest of it being aged for eighteen years prior to bottling. The distillery's official bottling of 18-year old was discontinued years ago, but while a tasty dram it was bottled at 48% and was matured in first-fill bourbon casks, so this promises to be a different kettle of fish, and I don't expect that there'll be any valid comparison between the two.

I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of the SMWS distillery code system, where the first number represents the distillery (29 in this case) and the second represents the number of casks that the Society has bottled from that distillery - 143 in this case, meaning that this was the 143rd bottling of Laphroaig that the SMWS has released. I understand the basic principle behind it, since back in the day many distilleries would not allow the distillery name to appear on independent bottlings, but only a handful still feel that way. The SMWSs' - and quite a few other independent single cask bottlers' - way of thinking is that they don't want you to judge a whisky by what you usually expect from the distillery, since most of their products are single cask bottlings which naturally can vary widely and which may not follow that usual style, so they want to avoid direct comparisons and presumptive judgement by avoiding the outright naming of the distillery. Personally though I find it more fascinating if a bottling from a certain distillery is so different from the norm, compared to that distillery's official bottlings, and I'll often enjoy the challenge of trying to discern why it's so different to the typical profile. But such information is only a quick Google away, and if you're like most of us whisky geeks you'll probably end up remembering the distillery codes that are closest to your heart - which I suppose defeats the purpose of the codes in the first place!

An independent bottling of Laphroaig isn't a particularly common thing, although there now seem to be a growing number of thinly-veiled 'secret distillery' bottlings coming from more obscure independent bottlers - many possibly coming from privately owned casks - that are rumoured to be Laphroaig. The good independent bottlers will fill holes that the distillery doesn't (or can't) fill itself, whether that means bottling at cask strength, or without chill filtration or added colouring, or all three, or maturing in a different or exotic cask type, or bottling single casks rather than large batches. And in this case, all the above! As mentioned above, a refill cask-matured Laphroaig isn't something that the distillery does very often for its official bottlings, unless they're going to then use a finishing cask of another type before bottling. But from the few examples that I've tasted to date, they can be fantastic, letting that medicinal, salty & peaty powerful spirit shine - especially when served up unadulterated and at cask strength. This particular example, SMWS 29.143 was actually bottled way back in 2013, so obviously all 226 bottles from this single barrel are long sold out, and the sample for this review came from a fellow whisky nerd who picked one up from a European auction site.

The SMWS name for this bottling is a little less extravagant than some, and if I'm not mistaken it's also a typo - 'Finish Tar Syrup', which actually should be 'Finnish Tar Syrup', as in coming from Finland. Those slightly mad Fins use the edible type of tar (not the road-making type) for a number of different things, including medicinal tonics, or like in this case, as flavouring for food - even including ice cream. It's actually made from the sap & resin collected from burning pine trees, and is said to have a smoky, strongly tarry flavour. No wonder that Scandinavia goes bonkers for Laphroaig and Islay in general, then! Did this little typo make this bottling more collectable, back when it was available? Hopefully even the most die-hard collectors haven't gone to those extreme lows just yet. Let's just let the whisky do the rest of the talking, shall we?

SMWS 29.143 (Laphroaig) 'Finish Tar Syrup', 18-Year Old, 58.3%. Islay, Scotland.
Distilled April 1995, fully matured in a single refill ex-bourbon barrel, bottled 2013. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 226 bottles. And 'Finish' should be 'Finnish'.

Colour: Pale gold.

Nose: Well it's certainly Laphroaig, but it's also warm, soft & inviting. Yes, it's tarry, and herbal too. Smoked oily fish, dried leafy herbs - alternates between oregano, rosemary, even basil? Salted butter, black pepper and freshly dried lemon slices. Salted liquorice and damp seaside rock pools further in.

Texture: Medium weight, soft and mellow - at 58%, remember! No spirit-y heat at all.

Taste: And there's the peat - dry and earthy, with a fistful of ash. A dry, warm (not hot) chilli flake spice, mixed in with some black pepper. Some iodine and soft old leather. More dried lemon wedges with the rind still in tact. Over-salted smoked pork, more oily smoked fish and more dried herbs behind.

Finish: Long length. The chilli flakes, black pepper and dried lemon again initially, then a muddy, earthy peat that then turns dry & ashy. Then shifting towards coastal - muddy damp rock pools, drying kelp, hot sand & salt spray from the shore. Oily putty, old bandages, smoked dried chilli (chipotle) and dried lemon to finish.

Score: 4 out of 5. Nudging 4.5 though.

Notes: Very good stuff! The most herbal Laphroaig I've tasted to date, and certainly one of the more mellow in character, without sacrificing any flavour. In fact this 18-year old drinks more like a 25+ year old, if you ask me - and you'd never guess it was over 58% ABV. The refill cask has worked brilliantly - textbook subtractive & oxidative maturation, in my relatively amateur opinion. Not adding too much at all, but doing its job well - mellowing and balancing, keeping an eye on things without getting in the way. It's definitely tarry, and there's plenty of smoked fish & dried herbs, so it's certainly quite Scandinavian in feel - but that's Finnish rather than finish! This does remind me of an old fishing boat, with the old crab pots, neglected rope & nets, never fully maintained or cleaned, that sort of thing. All very old-school Islay whisky, then!

This SMWS Laphroaig is something that I can see Mr. Serge Valentine going nuts over - and for good reason! A different, older, mellower style of Laphroaig, but with no dilution (pun intended) of character.

Cheers!

Cadenheads Ardbeg 25 Year Old Whisky Review!

A rare 25-year old independent bottling of Ardbeg, at cask strength, from a single ex-bourbon cask. And this just happens to be the oldest Ardbeg that I've ever tasted!

As Scotland's oldest surviving independent bottler, WM Cadenhead's don't get a lot of attention compared to some of the newer, flashier and 'sexier' companies. The company was originally founded in 1842 (predating Gordon & MacPhail by 50-years!) in Aberdeen on the east coast, and in 1858 was purchased by the founder's brother-in-law, William Cadenhead. It passed through a couple of owners in the subsequent century before the stock was auctioned off in the early 70s and the company was sold to the current owners, none other than J&A Mitchell, owners of Springbank & Kilkerran Distilleries. The entire operation was uprooted and re-established in Campbeltown, and Cadenhead's products are bottled in Springbank's bottling hall, with the flagship Cadenhead's store only a few minute's walk from the distillery entrance. That flagship Campbeltown store is really something to behold, with a huge range of single cask bottlings on offer, as well as bargain-priced, hand-filled regional blended malts that are often outstanding value for money. As you'd expect from the parent company, Cadenhead's is very much a "no frills" whisky - and also rum & gin - brand. That shows in the use of relatively plain packaging and understated labelling, even in their high-end bottlings from deceased distilleries, but with no shortage of details about the whisky inside, which of course is what really counts. Crucially, you'll be hard-pressed to find a Cadenhead's single malt that isn't bottled at cask strength, and like all of their owner's single malt products they're always non-chill filtered and naturally coloured.

Cadenhead's 'Authentic Collection' range is one of the single cask collections that is generally only sold from the company's own stores - aside from the Campbeltown HQ there's also one on The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, plus a small one in London and six franchises in Eastern Europe. Sporting understated green labelling and plain packaging - often not even printed with cask numbers - these bottlings aren't as lusted after as some other, more flashy independent bottlings, but those in the know will recognise that they're worth a much closer look. Whisky, like many other things, shouldn't be judged by its coverings! The pricing on initial release is also kept quite reasonable, even with older expressions from highly regarded and collectable distilleries where an equivalent official bottling would be extremely expensive - and this 25-year old single cask Ardbeg certainly fits that description! We don't see many independent bottlings of Ardbeg, particularly those actually labelled as Ardbeg, with the recent examples coming from smaller companies like Elements of Islay and North Star, plus the SMWS of course. Cadenhead's certainly do seem to have their fair share of Ardbeg stock, but it's getting older now, since LVMH seem to be cutting down on sales to blenders and independent bottlers. Interestingly, most of the Ardbeg that Cadenhead's bottle was distilled from 1993-1994, a time when the distillery was on "life support" at the hands of then-owners Allied Distillers, and was only sporadically producing spirit. I'd hazard a guess that Allied was looking to off-load some of that spirit quickly for cash flow reasons, making it easier to get hold of than it would be only a few years later under the new owners. No doubt Glenmorangie & LVMH would've preferred that they hadn't done that!

This particular Cadenhead's Ardbeg is from a single ex-bourbon hogshead (250-litre cask) that was distilled in 1993, with 216 bottles released in early 2019 at a cask strength of 51.6%. Naturally (pun intended) it's non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. An equivalent single cask Ardbeg official bottling would be priced in the multiple thousands of pounds in today's climate, with one of the more recent single cask examples - at just 11-years of age - selling from the distillery for a whopping 500 pounds on release. Given the current popularity and frankly mental pricing of older Ardbegs, I'd expect that figure to quadruple if it was nearer to the age of this 25-year old single cask. Meanwhile while completely sold out this Cadenhead's single cask can still be found at auction for 250-280 pounds, so while not exactly cheap, an independent bottling like this one from Cadenhead's can make such a whisky more affordable for the drinker. Which is the real strength of independent bottlings when it comes to highly lusted-after whiskies like this, where they tend to attract a different buyer to equivalent official bottlings. The sample for this review came from a fellow whisky lover who was able to pick up one of these from an overseas auction, and was generous enough to share the love! Right, it's tasting time...

Cadenhead's Authentic Collection Ardbeg 25-year old, 51.6%. Islay, Scotland.
Distilled 1993, matured in a single ex-bourbon hogshead, bottled early 2019 at cask strength. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 216 bottles.

Colour: Medium gold.

Nose: Somehow both clean & dirty all at once. Fatty & sooty, and sweet & coastal. Old ropes, oyster shells, gentle bonfire smoke and sweet lemon-infused whipped cream. Some dry, chunky, earthy peat, and dry, old charred oak. Bacon rind in dirty cooking grease, and black pepper.

Texture: Medium weight. Fatty & greasy - in a good way! Peaty & lightly oaky. No heat at all.

Taste: Sweet lemon and more cream, smoked white fish, and more chunky peat but it's more muddy now. That dry, old charred oak again, plus more bacon rinds and black pepper. Some liquorice, table salt and a flash of vanilla. A little fresh red chilli, and a slightly floral & lemon sweetness.

Finish: Long length. More bacon rind & black pepper, and chunky dry peat with charred salt-laden driftwood. Dry chilli flakes now, smoked sweet white fish, and more sweet lemon & whipped cream around the edges.

Score: 4 out of 5. Very close to a 4.5 though.

Notes: Delicious dram. I'm not sure that I'd pick it as an Ardbeg though, there's something very Ledaig or even Talisker (with extra peat) here, which makes for a very interesting experience! There's an unusual but very enjoyable balance between sweet, clean & citrus and dirty, fatty & peppery notes from the nose to the finish, which just adds to the complexity. This Ardbeg has clearly been very carefully matured, with the great balance between spirit & cask - even after a quarter of a century in a single hogshead, and it's mellowed nicely in that time without losing a shred of character. I don't imagine that I'll be tasting another 25-year old single cask Ardbeg any time soon, particularly one bottled by the distillery, so there's no easy Ardbeg comparison here. But this is the finest Cadenhead's independent bottling that I've tasted to date. They know what they're doing after all that practice, of course!

This Ardbeg was certainly a bargain - even at the secondary auction prices, if you ask me. Not something you see - or taste - everyday, but it'll stop you in your tracks when you do!

Cheers!