61,7°
Distillery : Ardbeg - Islay
American Oak Ex-Bourbon Casks
Original Bottling
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2025
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength
Peated around 54 ppm
It is probably the first major release in the world of whisky in 2026. Many fans of the distillery, myself included, had long fantasised about a Ten Cask Strength, and they have finally agreed to make our dreams come true. This limited edition is therefore a replica of Ardbeg Ten, which has been around for over 25 years, but with a really high alcohol content. Personally, I think Ardbeg Ten is a total success, it is one of the very best bottlings still available for under E60, if not the best. So to have it in a Cask Strength version is truly an achievement.
Let's Taste It :
The nose is softer than the reduced version, the peat is less powerful than usual, iodine mingles with a fairly subtle vanilla, a zest of lemon, shovelfuls of salt and limestone, gravel, sleet. Plums and Conference pears. On the palate, however, it is something else entirely, oily, silky, very delicate, but with beautiful power. Vanilla Turkish delight, lychee juice, almond oil, then it becomes herbaceous, reeds, chives, lots of pepper and cloves. Violent finish, but not as much as I thought, mint, asparagus, vanilla icing, biscuit dough, a pinch of salt. White ashes.
In Short,
It's better than I expected. Although the nose is a little subdued, it's very similar to the reduced version, but with less explosive peat. Then the palate is really delicious and subtle, leading to a powerful but not overly so finish, where once again the nuances prevail over the power. It reminds me more of the old Ardbegs than the recent ones, as the peat was much less strong and there was a more delicate and smooth profile. So there are significant differences with the reduced Ten, but fundamentally, it's the same DNA. The price is very attractive, provided you buy it in the right place, because on the secondary market it's just ridiculous.
Score : 90
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Yndling - Some Things You Don't Get
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