Scotland – Day 2: Components

Alright, alright! I'll tell you what we drank at Ardbeg last night. Normally, I'm not the type to brag when I get to taste amazing whisky (mainly because I hate it when other people do it), but since fifty people emailed me after the last post (and I'm not going to answer fifty separate emails right now) I'll show you a close-up of the photo.

In my honest opinion, the best whisky in the group was the first: a 1999 single Bourbon cask. Even compared to the 1974, I thought the 15 year old was better. I could drink that whisky for the rest of my life and be happy. It's really a dynamic experience tasting single barrel Ardbeg samples because most of what Ardbeg releases are marriages of various ages from various barrel types. Getting the chance to isolate one of those components is really eye-opening – the fruitiness on the nose, the phenolic elements, and the hint of vanilla and butterscotch from the wood carrying through the finish. 

I now badly wish Ardbeg had a standard 15 year old expression.

-David Driscoll