Ardbeg Ten (46.0%): Do we really need another review of Ardbeg 10? Probably not... But this whisky is kind of important for me. After I purchased my first bottle of Ardbeg Ten and started to sip it every night I decided to learn more about whisky. I started to read and listen everything I can find. I started to sample new whiskies on every occasion, attend tastings and started to socialize more to meet other whisky geeks like me and actually I did meet the most amazing people. But most importantly I decided to travel for whisky... After a few months my first trip was to Islay and the very first distillery I visited was Ardbeg Distillery. When I was on the island I decided to share this growing obsession also with people I don't really know. I uploaded my first blog post in my room when I was packing my bag to leave and since then I always kept a bottle of Ardbeg Ten in my whisky cabinet. So, like I said it is an important dram for me bringing back memories and therefore I would like to talk about it a little bit... Color: Very light pale straw. Nose: You don't have to stick your nose in the glass, peat fills the room. Moist peat, decaying wet grass, lemon zest and spearmint. A crisp autumn morning walk on the beach. Remnants of a bonfire: burnt car tires, tar spots on wet sand, greasy hemp rope pieces. A few drops of water makes it a little chalky and amplifies the salty ocean spray, lemon peel aromas and adds fresh almond notes. Palate: Peat flavored Pop Rocks (if such a thing would exist), charcoal ash and dry black mud. Old rubber snorkeling fins, pickled bonito in salt and cracked black peppercorns. With water we get lemon juice, sweet malt and more vanilla. Finish: Goes on and on with white pepper, star anise, tannins and black tea. Beautiful... Overall: Is this whisky getting better every year? Whenever I start to sip, it makes me sit and lean back with a huge smile on my face. Time slows down. Definitely one of the best price/value ratios in the market. A true classic in my opinion...
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