50,1°
Distillery : Ardbeg - Islay
White American Ex-Bourbon Casks
Original Bottling
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2021
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured
Peated around 54 ppm
This limited edition is made from black malt, meaning that the barley has been roasted at 250° Celsius before being distilled. Apart from that, the maturation is classic, exclusively in Bourbon casks. The whole thing is accompanied by a bit of a marketing frenzy around Punk, the point of which I didn't really understand, nor what it had to do with black malt. I couldn't find any information on the number of bottles produced.
Let's Taste It :
Big, unpolished peat. A bit clammy, sticky, swampy earth, dust, ashes, raw coal. The Bourbon influence can be felt behind, but it's really discreet. A few touches of vanilla and honey. Strangely, it's slightly sweet, with hints of shortbread and speculoos. After a while, it's quite balanced, even creamy. On the palate, the Bourbon comes through, it's very smooth, pleasant and ethereal. A vanilla punch with lychees, a touch of ginger, a squeeze of lemon and that's it. Oh yes, a good pile of peat, of course. Quite thick. The finish is a little short, unfortunately, but punchy, caramel, marrons glacés, chocolate. Earth and coal, and guess what? A good pile of peat. Opaque smoke. A dash of mint.
In Short,
It's a good Ardbeg, and I'm putting it between Grooves and Arrrrrrrdbeg! in the committee's list of releases. It's good, but nothing extraordinary, and it's got nothing to do with Punk. Honestly, it's on a par with Ten, and even it seemed to me that the finish wasn't as good. That said, it's pleasant to drink, provided the price of the bottle doesn't stick in your craw.
Score : 87
à déguster en écoutant :
The Cramps - Tear it Up
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