Ardbeg 10 Year Old Bot.1960s

Ardbeg 10 Year Old Bot.

• Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Distillery Bottling

75cl / 40%

A black labelled 10 year old distillery bottling of Ardbeg from back in the 1960s.

It has inspired me to share another side-by-side pairing. So I’ve got the 10-year-old staple from Ardbeg, “The Ultimate Ten”, which this renowned Islay distillery proclaims to be “the peatiest, smokiest, and most complex single malt of them all” next to their new addition to the Ultimate range, which they call An Oa (pronounced “an oh”). I suppose they could have just named it in the style of some independent bottlers, something like a “sweet smoke monster”, but no, they chose to name it after the Oa peninsula on Islay, “the breathtaking reserve of dramatic sea cliffs, open moorland, freshwater lochs, coastal grassland and heath.” Yum!

What can I tell you about Ardbeg that you haven’t already heard before? I like it. I like it, indeed, very much. Enough to keep drinking the “younger stuff”, even though I have a few exceptional bottlings in my collection. The 10-year-old is just so accessible to my palate and, thankfully, available anywhere that you can’t just go wrong. This single malt is uncoloure, un-chill filtere, bottle at an agreeable 46% ABV, and sold for something like £45. If you’re just getting into all that peaty whisky from Islay, the 10-year-old is a perfect gateway single malt, but don’t let it fool you – it still packs a punch! Ardbeg 10 Year Old Bot.1960s

An Oa doesn’t list the minimum age whisky from its vatting; thus, it’s a No Age Statement (NAS) bottling – but it has something else here to offer. It comes from a “newly-establishe” bespoke oak “Gathering Vat” which was marrying whiskies from various casks, including Ardbeg spirit aged in ex-bourbon casks (as is the Ten), charred virgin oak, and most excitingly, PX casks, which, presumably, would give it some more sweetness, as well as all that additional darker colour. I know it’s also un-chill filter, and I’m hoping that due to the PX, no other colouring was adde. It’s bottle at an attractive 46.6% ABV, and you can pick it up for just a few quid more, at something like £47. So which one shall we choose? It’s time to get to tasting!