Ardbeggeddon 1972 29 Year Old Old Malt Cask

Ardbeggeddon 1972 29 Year Old Old

• Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
• Douglas Laing

75cl / 48.4%

A very special Ardbeg 1972, bottled from a single sherry cask to commemorate the Plowed Society’s Ardbegeddon gathering in Las Vegas in 2002. A legendary bottling that won huge critical acclaim on release and remains highly sought-after.

Moreover, I’ve been a long time lurker for about 6 years. I figured it was high time I pull a bit of my weight and actually start to contribute a review around here. I’m starting up a bit of a hodgepodge blog of the finer things with some buddies of mine, so I figured this would be a good way to start getting some feedback on my tasting notes.

Also, To kick things off with a bit of a bang (a VERY big bang), I figured I’d share the recent pleasure I had to taste a dram of a legendary Ardbeg. This would be courtesy of one of the extremely generous executives that my wife helps support at her work. He found out I was a fan of Ardbeg and saw fit to welcome me into the inner circle. Needless to say, I never ever thought I’d have a chance to try something like this in my lifetime, so I tried to do it justice the best I could. Here we go… Ardbeggeddon 1972 29 Year Old Old Malt Cask

Ardbeg 1972 28 Year Old – Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask ABV: 50.1% Vintage: 11/1972 Bottled: 11/2000

Rested ~15 minutes with cap

Color Pale straw. Natural. Little to no haze.

Further, Nose Dry ashy peat up front. A hint of salty sea spray. Classic Ardbeg. Subtle sweetness and a hint of dry grain. Some rubber. With a drop of water: some vanilla and sweet barley malt. Fresh new rubber tires. Some mint on the nose as it develops.

Palate Peat. Cadbury milk chocolate. Very creamy and slick. Charcoal. More rubber. Toffee and caramel. Some fruit near the end, but mellowed and ripe. Amazing how it coats the mouth and evenly distributes the flavor.

Finish Ashy notes as it dissipates. Very long and lingering. A hint of peppermint. Classic sweet malted barley grain notes. Some barbecue and mineral notes. Ardbeggeddon 1972 29 Year Old Old Malt Cask

Overall It’s amazing how the age has the mellowed this one out. So even-keeled. The creamy milk chocolate on the palate was surprising. Very well balanced, almost delicate.

I don’t know if I could even give this one an honest score without being affected by the sheer bafflement that I had the opportunity to try it. It’s probably the best scotch that I’ve ever had, though.

If anything, it’d be a 95-98/100.

When all was said and done, and while I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to try this legendary dram, I would say that I am quite pleased with the quality of scotch you can get for a fraction of a fraction of the cost of this one. I will forever remember it’s Fleeting beauty as I sip on my lovely drams of their 10-Year and Uigeadail.