Name: Ardbeg 10
Color: Light Yellow
Nose: Peat, coal, smoke
Taste: Smokey peat, spices
Ardbeg 10 is a Highland scotch from the Islay region in Scotland that I like to put into a category I call “Big Boy Scotch”. Ardbeg is considered by some people in the whisky world to be the peatiest of all the scotches. I can think of a few other scotches out there that can compete for that title but with heavily peated scotch is truly a matter of individual taste. The name “Ardbeg” is Scottish Gaelic for a “small promontory”. A promontory is defined as “a point of high land that juts out into a large body of water”. See map below.
As I have mentioned in previous reviews, I like to start my tasting experiences with 10 to 12-year-old scotches so I can get a feel for the baseline flavor profile. Plus, and this is an important point since I self-fund this operation, they more affordable! Some people just like to jump to the much older and aged scotches. I never found this helpful in the learning process of tasting. It is hard to graduate upwards and gain appreciation for what you are drinking if you start with the best first. Also, many people are uneducated shits that want to look cool in the company of others. When it comes to heavily peated scotches I do not see the need to go to the oldest or most expensive bottle you are learning or developing a taste for peated whisky.
Ardbeg produces other expressions that range in price and quality. These expressions are, but not limited to the following; An Oa, Blasda, Corryvreckan, Supernova, Uigeadail, Rollercoaster, Alligator, Ardbeg Day, Kelpie, and Grooves. Some of the prices of these are very high and I look forward to the Rabbie Burns Tasting in 2019 to sample some of these expressions.
Price around $55 and a very good scotch if you like peated whisky. It is also a great scotch to warm you in cold winter weather.
If you like it, drink it! – Christopher
If you like it, drink it!
