Whisky : Ardbeg 13 Year; Chieftain’s

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 54.8%

Cask : Hogshead

Age : 13 Year (Distilled April 2005, Bottled April 2018)

Nose : Barbecue bentos on the beach: fatty bacon, charred herbs, sweet shiso, creamy lotion, and salty tide pools.  A bit further in was sharp citrus, used coffee grounds, and faint hospital-antiseptic.

Palate : Medium to light body with a nice oiliness.  Bright citrus and brine gave way to herbal notes of fatty roasted lemon chicken drippings.  Hints of cigar box, iodine, and burning green wood came on the mid palate, while lemon sorbet carried through to the end.

Finish : Lingering lemon and citrus oil.

Score : 6

Mental Image : BBQ Mixed Plate on the Beach.

Notes : A lovely teenage Ardbeg with tons of the classic depth you expect to find on the ten but dialed up a few notches.  This had wonderful notes of citrus and char with a fatty oiliness that really coated the palate.  Ardbeg IBs are practically unicorns due to their current rarity and they usually command fairly ridiculous prices.  I think Ardbeg is great, but the limited stock available from independent bottlers drives up the price to fairly silly levels.  Neither this Ardbeg nor the couple other IBs I have tried really presented something radically different that justified the price.  My wife is a self-identified Ardbeg aficionado and even she just sort of shrugged her shoulder at the bottle and pointed to Uigeadail are more her style.

Overall, good and fun to try, but not significantly better than, or different from, the standard 10 Year.