A golden oldie today with an Ardbeg 1975 from Douglas Laing. And for me a rare opportunity to taste something like that, since the prices for Ardbeg from the 70s are increasing enormously at auctions. And that is not entirely strange, because it is often very good stuff. Especially those from the early 70s.
In fact, you can not even compare Ardbeg of that time with what it is today. There was no marketing bullshit yet, and more importantly, the taste of the whisky was much different. Better according to most. At that time much less peat was used, the fermentation time was longer and with a different strain of yeast, and different barley too. So you can imagine that all this has changed the character of Ardbeg considerably.
This Ardbeg has matured for 24 years and is bottled at 50% ABV.
Ardbeg 1975 tasting notes:
Nose: Rope, briny, a hint of tar and stewed fruits. Wow what a nose! Old and musty, zesty and then it develops towards more stewed fruits. Layered with some sweet peat.
Taste: A thick oily mouthfeel. Sweet honey, it’s a bit zesty here as well. Minerals, a faint bit of briny notes. And some lovely sweet mandarins. A little bit of tobacco. And again some nice stewed fruits.
Finish: A long and sweet finish, much sweeter then you would expect from the nose. Sweet peat, I love it! It’s peaty but so different from current releases. A bit of tar too.
Wow, what a dram! This is excellent stuff indeed. But don’t rush this one, as it needs some time to open up. But then becomes a beautiful whisky. Ardbeg from a different time, very nice!
Photo: Whiskybase
