Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Gradation: 54%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: My Name Is Whisky
Average price: € 890.00
Official website: www.mynameiswhisky.com
Vote: 89/100
After Sunset, comes Nightfall, and the second bottling of the Horizon series in The Signature collection is again a 25-year-old from one of the most controversial distilleries of recent times.
But if contemporary Ardbegs create divisions among aficionados, here we go all the way back to 1996, to an unfortunate time for the distillery but one that has delivered some of the most interesting whiskies, both OB and independent.
Double matured in ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry (order not stated), bottled in 2021 and released in April 2022 and already sold out, available only in miniature version, for which I thank the always kind Francesca Murat.
Tasting notes
Pine needles and juniper are the first to appear on the threshold of the nose, woody and resinous impressions expressing a peat that is more vegetal than smoky, intertwined with dried orange, nutmeg, clove and cedar wood. But it’s only the first layer, behind which peep softer notes of vanilla, honey and apple, accompanied by a veil of brine, barely hinted at. The smoke is a distant evocation. Autumnal.
Gliding oily and full in the mouth, it enlivens the palate with paprika and ginger, giving more impetus to the ripe orange notes, almost marmalade-like, full of spice and with an assertive but not opaque rivulet of smoke. Woody declinations remain the main accent, pushing towards bitter components of liquorice root, cocoa, rhubarb and a vague, fleeting marine note.
Long finish where orange and damp wood dance in the mouth, mixed with dull embers, spices, balsamic notes and cocoa.
How beautiful these old-fashioned Ardbegs are, so different and so rich, living on balanced contradictions that entertain and amuse, well captured in this double maturation that enhances their playful contrasts.