SMWS 2007 33.138 A Thigh-slapping Dram 12 yo

 

 

 

60,9°

Distillery : Ardbeg- Islay

2nd Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt

Independent Bottling 

By Scotch Malt Whisky Society 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2019

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 54 ppm

 

 

 

In 1983, when Pip Hills created the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, the Ardbeg distillery was closed for two years. This is probably why it was given the number 33, which was a little late for a distillery of this level, as the illustrious Society's first bottling of Ardbeg didn't take place until 1986. But then they made up for it, and as the code indicates, this bottling is the 138th, made in 2019 after spending 12 years in a second-fill Sherry Oloroso cask, 615 bottles have been released for sale.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is powerful, full-bodied, I'd say more of a flick on the cheek, but without fuss, it's still pleasant. The Sherry is intense, with cranberries, gooseberries, blueberries, combined with an oily peatiness, plastic, gravel, nails. Thick smoke. You can't get enough of it. The palate is straightaway very spicy, with cumin, paprika, nutmeg, prunes, dried grapes and varnished wood. Red fruits galore, raspberries, pomegranate, blackberries. A little sooty around the edges, this is close to a good fire. Atomic finish, woody, encaustic, charcoal, telluric tremors, apricot shade.

 

In Short,

An excellent one, pretty close to the Uigeadail, but better, more woody and complex, more intense, more fruity. In terms of price, we are on dizzying heights, it’s better to forget. 

Score : 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Amyl & The Sniffers - Some Mutts (Can't Be Muzzled)