Ardbeg 1973 Bot.1988 Fragments of Scotland Samaroli

Ardbeg 1973 Bot.1988 Fragments of Scotland

• Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Samaroli

75cl / 57%

Second dram for World Whisky Day is a very good independent Ardbeg. It was bottled from a single refill sherry hogshead.

Review #56 – Malts of Scotland Ardbeg 1998 ‘Ardborn’ (bottled in 2014), 57,8%

Nose: Lots and lots of salty, maritime notes. Peat smoke, tarry rope. Somewhat mineral. Also some sweet, fruity sherry goodness. With water it gets VERY sweet, almost like milk chocolate. The smoke pulls back quite a bit, too.

Palate: A smoky, peaty punch right off the bat! A bit of wet hay. Sherried fruit, raisins, with some honey sweetness later on. Water hides most of the smoke in the background and brings out more sweet, fruity notes. Ardbeg 1973 Bot.1988 Fragments of Scotland Samaroli

Finish: Long and dry with strong phenolic peat smoke. It gets slightly tannic by the end.

A very powerful Ardbeg with just a hint of sherry cask influence. Going in blind, I would probably think this was some kind of Octomore, but older. Oddly enough, I don’t get any of the usual citrus note I find in most Ardbegs. Nevertheless, a very, very tasty dram. Way better than recent limited releases, at least…