All right - time for another random sample ... see what I think.
This one is quite light - and so right away I'm going to guess it's a Scotch Whisky with no added coloring. The nose I get honey, some ash, a bit of matchstick, very sweet. Chocolate as well. This one seems fairly mild, but I did just come off a warm up pour that was high proof.
There is more ash on the taste, some matchstick as well. It's a bit prickly, and the honey comes through as well. There does seem to be something a little off on it, but I can't really place what exactly - can't seem to pin it down.
The finish has sweet in the front, and turns ashy in the back. It has a touch of malt sourness as well that I sometimes get from more recent Lagavulin Distillers Editions - but I can't see this being that. There is a little bit of pepper on the finish as well. My best guess is this is one of the one-off Ardbegs I've bought over the years.
I'll rate this a 4.0/5.0 ... if I was in the right mood, I'd rate it 4.25. This ended up being the Ardbeg Heavy Vapors Committee Release, 50.2% ABV (which I believe was cask strength for this one). As many of the Ardbeg one-offs, it wasn't cheap - coming in at about $160 in Oregon. It doesn't look like I've reviewed this before - I have a little bit left to try again sometime to see if I like it more or less than this evening. While I don't think I have a sample remaining, I'm pretty certain I prefer Corryvrekan or even Uigedail over this, and those you can find easily and they are cheaper.
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