Well, time to kick start some SMWS bottling tasting notes. All those are part of the SMWS bottle share organized earlier this year by my good whisky friend (and blogger) Sjoerd. It’s really a treat to be able to try some of those SMWS as they do not ship over here, and it’s really hard getting hold of a bottle in Israel. I decided to start with this Ardbeg, as I really dig Sherried Ardbegs (and non sherried as well), and I felt like trying some Delightful sherry
Yes, this is the name given to this one by SMWS and it’s on the money!
Basically it’s a 11 year old Ardbeg matured in a Sherry Cask (refill)
Ardbeg 11 yo SMWS 33.109, Refill Sherry Butt, 468 btl., 55,6%
Nose : Wonderful sweetness of sherry with quite a few whiffs of smoke. Peat. Sweet marinated BBQ. Fruity with a lot of Peaches, apples and also some salty brine. Ashy and sherry. Like an Ardbeg sherry cask should be. Really nice. !
Palate: Tobacco. Ash. Lots of sherry. Burnt sugar. Wee brine. Tons of smoke. Fruity. Dark chocolate. Bacon in sweet marinade. can you say YUMM?
Finish: Very dry. Tannins. Makes your entire mouth dry up. Ash. Long. Very long.I like.
A very good Ardbeg indeed. One of the fruitiest I’ve had from Ardbeg, and definetly interesting stuff. Ample amounts of ash, Ardbeg signature ashtray, but with those fruit and sweet BBQ sauce. it’s really yummy. Almost above 90, but not quite there. Ardbeg should really try and bottle something like that (sweeter the Uigedail)