Review by: The Muskox

I no longer make a point of attending Ardbeg’s events, but when your friend tells you he’s got a spare seat reserved at a free tasting at my local Ardbeg Embassy, I won’t say no!

This year’s Ardbeg Day release is Heavy Vapours – born from experimenting with Ardbeg’s distillation setup. Attached to the first part of the lyne arm on Ardbeg’s stills is a device called a purifier, which extracts the heaviest and oiliest component of the spirit and sends it back down to the still. This device was installed back in the 1960s, and by around 2010, the staff at Ardbeg weren’t sure if it was still doing anything! So they did the natural thing and turned it off to see what would happen. This whisky is the result.

As you can see in the photos, we were poured glasses of the 10, Wee Beastie, and Uigeadail to compare with the Heavy Vapours. There were also carnival games on the “Peaty Patio” – I won a hat on the world’s worst Plinko board (my disk kept getting stuck on the pegs – how does that even happen?). In true Ardbeg style, there’s also a companion comic book for this year’s release.

Kudos to the LVMH marketing team… for spelling “Vapours” correctly, even on the American bottling.

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Distillery: Ardbeg

Bottler: Official bottling

Region: Islay

ABV: 50.2%.

Age: No age statement (according to our hosts at Ardbeg day, it’s 12-13 years old). Bottled in 2023.

Cask type: Ex-bourbon barrels.

Price: N/A, free tasting.

Color: 0.2, Pale Straw. Natural Color, non-Chill Filtered.

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Nose: Deep earthy and fragrant peat. Savoury kelp, muddy rubber boots, and tar. Deep vegetal and meaty notes as well – charred banana peppers, grilled pork chops, prosciutto fat, black garlic oil, and oysters. Salted licorice, caraway seeds, and unsweetened chocolate.

Palate: Medium weight, fairly oily. Arrives dark green and vegetal, with rubbery smoke, anise liqueurs, and tide-pool brine. There’s just a hint of citrus here too. Dark earthy smoke as it develops, with salty tide pools, espresso-roast coffee, star anise and cloves.

Finish: Lingering oiliness. Oily smoke – dirty fryer vents. Hot asphalt, dark herbs, wet earth, and more unsweetened chocolate.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Full-fat kelp crisps”

Conclusion: That’s a good Ardbeg! Significantly better than the other three I tried this next to (10, Wee Beastie, Oogie). This really is darker and heavier than normal Ardbeg. The nose especially has this addictive salty and savoury quality. The near-total lack of fruit and increased oil and earth made for a night-and-day difference with the 10 and Wee Beastie. Those bottlings are much sweeter, brightly citrusy and peppery in comparison. The depth and savouriness on Heavy Vapours brings to mind the iodine depth of those long-gone 70s Ardbegs, though they’re of course not the same. All in all, quite a nice committee release. I’d love to compare it to the other recent committee releases, but this is the first one I’ve tried since Drum!

Final Score: 87.

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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.