Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
So here we have a bottle of 25yr “mystery Islay” from independent bottler That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC).
A small group of us sat down a while ago and tried this against a bunch of 25-ish year old bottles from Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Port Ellen, and Caol Ila. At the end we decided that this was better than half of them, and we were sure it’s Ardbeg. Like, really sure.
So the next day I found this excellent review by Angus on WhiskyFun where he is sure, like really, really sure, it’s Laphroaig. And, I’ll be honest, we’re scrubs compared to this guy, but we were also really confident in our assessment, especially with three Laphroaig 25’s on the table.
But there’s different batches of Islay #2, too. I’ve got batch 2, and it appears Angus was tasting batch 3. Are we both right and did TBWC make such a big change between batches?
So ever since then I’ve been wanting to sit down and have a little do-over, and here it is. I’ll pour some Ardbeg 25 2020 and some Laphroaig 25 2014 for comparison.
Tasted on 05/13/2021, neat in a Glencairn. Rested for 179 seconds in a small, windless room at 68.23F, average barometric pressure of 29.76 inHg. The moon is Waxing Gibbous, 90%.
Islay #2 That Boutique-y Whisky Company Batch 2
The label looks like someone went back to 1990 and played with the first version of Photoshop for an hour. But I won’t hold it against them.
Distillery: UNKNOWN
Bottler: That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC)
ABV: 48.7%
Age: 25 years old. Bottled in 2018.
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. #337 of 990 bottles.
Nose: earthy peat, coal smoke. Lemon rind. Clear seawater and sand. Medicinal w/ iodine and a little camphor. Mild tar. Some machine oil. Gets sweeter w/ time. With Water: more sweet citrus, more oil.
Taste: rich peat, lots of smoke. Sweet lemon. Seawater. Wet rocks. Quite medical. A little chili pepper. Decent mouthfeel. Nice undertones of tar, black rubber, incense. With Water: a little bit of a meaty richness now. Otherwise similar.
Finish: follows right from the palate w/ lots of earthy peat, smoke, sweet lemon. Salty seawater. Nicely medical, more on the camphor. Medium-long on the smoke, seawater, and citrus. Some of the tarry notes coming in at the end. With Water: a bit more lemon, more brine.
Summary: this is delicious. Wonderfully balanced, really nicely medicinal and maritime, and some nice touches of tar, black rubber, and machine oil. Nice complexity throughout. Water doesn’t change it much but a few drops does bring the fruit out a bit more, and also some of that machine oil note. Overall, I’d say this is an excellent older Ardbeg, especially next to the Ardbeg 25.
Would I buy a bottle? yep. I’m glad I have this one, and if I could get another for the mere $170 it cost us last August then I’d get it again for sure. Yea, it’s a half-sized bottle, but even looking at price-per-ml this is totally worth it. Looking at original retail, it’s 4 of these bottles for one Ardbeg 25.
Final Score: 92.
This is the 25 year old, distilled in 1995, bottled on 8/19/2020, which I reviewed more than a year ago.
I stand by my old notes on this one, though I do want to note that when I first nose this after the TBWC there’s an interesting funkiness there that’s a little hard to quantify. More of an old cheesy funk than a farmy or gym sock thing. It’s gone on the second whiff though, my nose having gotten used to it. All other notes are the same.
Final Score: 93.
A 25 year old Laphroaig bottled in 2014 which I reviewed in 2020.
I’m not writing full notes for this. Referring back to my old ones, I feel like the only difference is I’m picking up much more of a bright, sweetened grapefruit on the nose w/ a bit of candle wax. That grapefruit comes through on the palate as well. Otherwise, I feel like my old notes capture this one well.
Final Score: 92.
Comparison
Order: Ardbeg 25 > TBWC 25 > Laphroaig 25
The TBWC and Ardbeg 25 are surprisingly similar. The Ardbeg 25 isn’t as sweet, and feels “sharper”. It’s more complex, too. The fruit, medicinal, and maritime flavors are very similar between the two.
There’s a lot of daylight here between these two and the Laphroaig. The fruit, smoke, and medicinal flavors are all different. The Laphroaig is much more tropical, more of that classic bandaid note on the nose, etc. Delicious, to be sure, but different than the other two. And I prefer the other two, as well.
So I’m gonna keep calling this Ardbeg.
I’m prepared to be wrong, of course. Single casks and small batches are often surprisingly different from a distillery’s core range.
Finally, I have to point out that looking closely at the bottle again, there’s nothing that says it’s from a single distillery 😉
(Edit: I’m leaving the last sentence in above for posterity, but as many commenters pointed out I clearly missed the big, red “Single Malt” right at the top of the label. It’s obviously from a single distillery. Gah!!! /blush)
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 