Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
I recently got the new 2020 release of Ardbeg 25, and what better to review it with than the 2002 bottling of Ardbeg Lord of the Isles 25yr. I’ll also sip a little Twenty Something 23yr and Twenty One as well.
Tasted on 3/27/2021, each neat in a Glencairn.
A new 25 year old Ardbeg is kind of a big deal, especially given the timing. These casks are from the mid-90’s when the distillery was barely operating. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a new 25yr until at least 2023 when they’d be able to offer it with all new juice after the reopening. I’m not sure why they’d add this new supposedly permanent expression now when its character will likely change dramatically in just a couple of years. But hey, old Ardbeg is always welcome!
Given that, it’s surprising how little info we get from Ardbeg about the spirit or the casks. Their focus is clearly on the packaging: the fancy bottle, the machined stopper (which is objectively awesome), the pretty metal box with the pop up lid.
This bottle comes at a hefty premium too: I paid $741.99 + WASLT. Ouch. Keep in mind the Twenty Something 23yr could be had for half that at retail when it came out (and we all still groaned at the price) and even today is still ~$200 cheaper even at secondary prices. So this is clearly priced quite high even for Ardbeg.
Distillery: Ardbeg
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 46.0%
Age: 25 years old. Bottled on 08/19/2020.
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 6,500 bottles.
Nose: earthy, smoldering peat. Quite sweet. Light sea spray, warm sand. Mildly medicinal w/ iodine and cough syrup. Mint and eucalyptus. Tar. Cream and dark chocolate. Somewhat herbal. Lemon and tropical fruits. Vanilla. The tasting notes from Ardbeg say “fragrant candle wax” but I’m not finding that.
Taste: big peat and wood smoke. Somewhat ashy. Earthy. Salty seawater. Iodine. Some tar. Nice oily mouthfeel. Lots of eucalyptus and pepper. Dark chocolate. Citrus and tropical fruits. A bit mineral. Spiciest of the group for sure.
Finish: nice peat smoke. Tropical fruits. Earthy, somewhat herbal. Seawater. Iodine. Mild tar. Cream. Eucalyptus and pepper. Rather long with the smoke, maritime, and medicinal notes most prominent.
Summary: this is an excellent dram with lots of big peat and wood smoke, medicinal, and maritime notes. Surprisingly fruity, citrus and more tropical too. Some nice tar notes but not a lot of depth in that corner. A good, long finish with lots of smoke. It’s not the most complex dram for sure, but what it has is excellent. I do keep picking it up hoping for more depth, but oh well. All-in-all, delicious and a high quality Ardbeg for sure.
Compared to the 23yr it feels like splitting hairs honestly. They’re very similar, with the 23yr having a mild sherry influence that is quite good. There’s more depth to the 25yr which I think is a bit better balanced and integrated. The finish on the 23 might be a bit better, as well as a bit richer. Hmm. Ordering these two is tough.
It’s possible that in isolation I’d have rated this higher, with the price and cachet influencing me. But grounding it with the 23 and LOTI helped a lot.
Would I buy a bottle? nope! I’m happy I have this, but at $200 more than the 23yr and being so close, given the choice I’d go buy the 23yr and save a buck. Ardbeg fans will want this as it’s an important bottle in their history, but everyone else should save their money. The secondary pricing on this is already completely ludicrous: 1,050GBP!?!! Fuck off.
Final Score: 93.
Ardbeg 25 Year Lord of the Isles
The Lord of the Isles is fairly legendary at this point. Released from 2001 through 2006, each one is at least 25 years old. It’s apparently all casks from 1976 and 1977, some ex-bourbon and some sherry. Ardbeg from this era is generally regarded as superb. I’ve tasted some single casks from the mid-70’s and I’m still sorry I didn’t give them all my money to buy a bottle years ago.
This bottle, from 2002, was bought on auction in 2018 and split 50/50 with a friend. Current secondary prices are in the range of ~$1,800.
Distillery: Ardbeg
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 46.0%
Age: 25 years old. Bottled on 03/06/2002.
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: big, earthy, rich peat smoke. Iodine, cough syrup. Creosote and tar. Seaweed. Carbide, matches. Black rubber. Rather mineral, hot sand and drying rocks on the beach. Limes, apples, tropical fruits. Vanilla and toffee. Walnuts and almond skins. Crispy bacon. Motor oil. Old rope, incense. Damn. The empty glass is promotes a bit more fruit.
Taste: warm, deep, earthy, smoldering peat. Seawater. Creosote, tar. A bit dry. Iodine and antiseptic. Eucalyptus, camphor. Mineral. Limes and tropical fruits. Toffee, dark chocolate. Walnuts. Fatty bacon. Oily rich mouthfeel.
Finish: that rich peat with more tropical fruitiness mixed in. Salty seawater, warm pepper and eucalyptus, still a bit dry. Iodine and cough syrup. Dry earth. Creosote and tar. Long on peat, maritime, and medicinal notes.
Summary: Classic old Ardbeg. The mid-70’s really were their golden age. This is an incredible dram for me. Rich, earthy peat, tropical fruits, big medicinal and maritime notes. All of it is mixed in with some excellent sulphur, rubber, rope, and creosote. It’s superb. It may not be the most complex dram, but what is has works so well.
I think a lot of people would find this to be a “challenging dram”, with a lot of notes that many won’t like. There’s tar, creosote, sulphur, antiseptic, black rubber, incense, etc. that I’ve seen turn a lot of people off. But sign me up, it’s all beautiful here. In particular it has that Creomulsion cough syrup nose to it that I just love.
Would I buy a bottle? tough call. I’m hesitant at current secondary prices. If they dipped back to what I got this for in 2018 then yea I’d snag a bottle.
Final Score: 96.
I’m tasting a bit of Ardbeg Twenty One as a comparison. No new notes, see my previous review for details. I rated it a 92.
Ardbeg Twenty Something 23 Year
I’m tasting a bit of Ardbeg Twenty Something 23yr as a comparison. No new notes, see my previous review for details. I rated it a 93.
Comparison
Order: LOTI > 25yr > 23yr > 21yr
The LOTI makes everything else in this group seem bright and fruity. It’s really noticeable, and amusing. I started with the 25yr and thought “hmm, dark and rich” then I went back to it after the LOTI and LOL’d.
Overall, the LOTI is obviously well above the others here. It’s far more complex, with a group of notes that just aren’t found in the others. Brilliant.
The 21yr brings up the rear. It’s solid, but I found myself reaching for the 23yr to compare far more often.
The 23yr vs. the 25yr is the interesting comparison here. It’s close, and I talked about it a bunch above, but I’m gonna give the nod to the 25yr for a bit more depth and better balance.
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.
Malt Runners 