Ardbeg 1997 SMWS 33.108 Unusual, intriguing and delightful

Category	SINGLE MALT
Distillery	Ardbeg
Bottler	The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS)
Bottling Series	-
Vintage	1997
Bottled Year	2011
Age	13년
Cask Type	Second Fill Ex-bourbon Barrel
Cask Number	-
Bottles Released	-
ABV	56.6%
Volume	700 ml 750 ml
Label	-
Country	Scotland
Region	Islay

Flavor Profile

Peaty

Smoky

Maritime

Sweet

Oaky

Fruity

Spicy

Vanilla

Creamy

Herbal

Citrus

Honey

Nutty

Floral

Chocolate

Dried Fruit

Tasting Notes

Colour

pale gold

air Nose

starts crisp and pure, although rather less ‘Ardbeg’ then earlier botlings. In a way, this could be mistaken for Caol Ila, not a bad thing, obviously. That means we find apple peelings, seaweed, whiffs of garden bonfire, then a little antiseptic, camphor, grapefruit and plain seawater. Almost forgot our bellowed whelks ;-). With water: things keep improving. More smoke, ‘a working kiln’, smoked fish, hessian… and all that jazz

restaurant Palate

rich, punchy, more Ardbeg, with an oily mouth feel. Peat smokiness, lemons, grapefruits, touches of salt, bitter grass and just a little aniseed and liquorice wood. I find this pretty excellent. More vanilla and light honey after one minute or two. With water: it’s funny how it gets both smokier and sweeter. Smoked vanilla cream? Smoked maple syrup? Also a little ‘green’ coffee

timer Finish

long, salty, very smoky, with notes of cider apples this time

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