Ardbeg 1999 Galileo 12 Year Old

Ardbeg 1999 Galileo

• Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Distillery Bottling

70cl / 49%

Firstly, One of 2012’s most hotly-anticipated releases, Ardbeg Galileo is made up from casks distilled in 1999, some of which spent their full term of maturation in casks that previously held Marsala wine, imparting sweet tropical fruit flavours to the mix. Galileo’s concept is in celebration of the well-publicise experiment whereby small quantities of Ardbeg were sent into space at the end of 2011 to see how they mature in zero gravity. Ardbeg Whiskey 12 Year

Further, A rather large proportion of this wide bottling (around 50,000 bottles, it seems) was matured in ex-Marsala casks (30-40%). Marsala is a pretty old-fashione Sicilian wine, much akin to sherry, that’s more used for cooking these days (in zabaione, tiramisu, various sauces…) It comes as red or white, dry or sweet. I don’t know which kind of Marsala was use for this Ardbeg 1999 Galileo 12 Year Old . Colour: gold.

Nose: less ‘Ardbeg’ than the G&M, rather rounder, less coastal for sure but also a little more medicinal. Rubber gloves (haha), then verbena and genepy (aniseed-like herbal notes), touches of tangerines, overripe apples and just a little walnut liqueur. Also ripe plums, quite unusual even in the most sherrie old Ardbegs. There’s also quite some vanilla and whiffs of pencil shavings, probably not from some old ‘chateau’ Marsala cask. Anyway, a very nice nose for sure, it may just lack more Ardbeg Galileo 2012 if you’re into ‘pure’ styles.

Mouth: starts a little weirdly, slightly disjointed, between the distillery’s usual sharp and zesty profile and a kind of both candied and dry fruitiness that stays apart (a kind of mixture of plums and bitter almonds). The oak’s also quite loud, with again notes of pencil shavings and heavily infused tea. Becomes more drying after that, kind of greenish (cardamom? Cumin?) Ardbeg Whiskey 12 Year

Finish: medium long, lemony and green. Green pepper. Slightly sour aftertaste, not unpleasant, with a saltiness. Comments: I really enjoyed the nose but I’m not too fond of the palate. Having said that, it’s probably a fine effort but as far as I’m concerned, I prefer Ardbeg au naturel.