Tasting note

Nose

Intense with a burst of charcoal, creosote, tar and treacle toffee, with curious hints of something vegetal, like fennel, celery and green peppers. Once these subside, there are hints of milk chocolate, aniseed and woodsmoke. With a little drop of water, some more herbal notes appear, like fennel, coriander and lavender, along with some characteristic Ardbeg aromatic woodsmoke and a hint of fresh, salty sea spray.

Add water and an oceanic minerality brings a breath of cool, briny seaspray. Waxed lemon and lime follows with coal tar soap, beeswax and herby pine woodlands. Toasted vanilla and sizzling cinnamon simmer with warm hazelnut and almond toffee.

Taste

A distinctively peppery mouthfeel eases into a complex symphony of flavours; treacle toffee, aniseed, salted caramel chocolate, eucalyptus, menthol and briar wood, to name but a few. The ‘tingling’, peppery sensation on the palate continues, with the sweeter flavours giving way to more savoury notes like charcoal, smoked bacon, burnt toast and tar.

Finish

The aftertaste is long and lingering, with a suggestion of peppermint and clove.

More information

Ardbeg 8 years is a full-bodied, youthful and challenging Single Malt Whisky that the distillery thinks smoke-loving Committee members will go absolutely wild for.

This bottling is actually only available to Ardbeg Committee members, but we managed to get a few bottles to Passion for Whisky for Ardbeg fans as well. 

What others say about it

On WhiskyFun.com, this limited edition is highly rated. The score is a whopping 90 out of a maximum of 100 points. 

Read what Angus thinks of it on the WhiskyFun.com website here.