Ardbeg 10 Year

Review by: The Muskox

I mean, there’s nothing to say about this whisky that hasn’t already been said better. It’s practically a rite of passage for every serious whisky drinker. It’s the standard to which other whiskies are held. It’s one of the most-reviewed whiskies on Reddit. It’s… yeah, I could go on for ages. Let’s just get to it.

Distillery: Ardbeg.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 46%.

Age: 10 years old.

Cask type: Bourbon.

Price: $100 CAD for 750 mL in Ontario.

Color: No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

Nose: A beachside campfire. That’s the only way I can put it. Charred, earthy, farmyard, vegetal peat. Lemon custard. Nutty toasted cream. Savoury ginger spice. A touch of mustard seed.

Palate: Light-bodied but weighty. Supremely easy to drink. Warms you up from the inside. Arrives with fresh lemon and herbs, then builds into big, big peat. Lots of barbeque char, black pepper, and some burnt licorice. Behind all the peat, though, the sweetness starts to shine through. There’s some brown sugar, honey, and graham cracker hiding in there.

Finish: Long. Lingering peat smoke, of course. Creamy vanilla. More fresh lemons. The spicy char of a tandoor. Dry spices and almonds.

Notes: I mean, come on. It’s delicious. It’s complex, everything is beautifully integrated, the peat is huge in all the right ways, etc. Again, there’s nothing that I can say about this whisky that hasn’t already been said. It’s one of the best base expressions of any whisky brand on the market today (alongside other contenders like Springbank 10, Bunnahabhain 12, and a few more)

This review serves more as a benchmark against which to compare my other whisky scores against. More then once, when I’ve told someone a rating of mine, they’ve asked, “Okay, well what would rate Ardbeg 10 as?” Well, now I can confidently answer that question: roughly between great and fabulous.

Final Score: 86.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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