Today is a good day for a peated whisky from Ardbeg Distillery on Islay. I previously shared my tasting notes on Ardbeg Dark Cove Committee Release. That same day at Ardbeg Embassy in Stockholm I tasted Ardbeg Cask X Straight from the barrel which is Ardbeg Embassy’s own cask. The cask is located in the bar!
This whisky has been matured in a red wine cask from Bordeaux. The whisky is approximately 55 ABV. I paid SEK 180 for 3 cl.
Woody on the nose at first. Then it turns towards berries, gooseberries to be more specific. It is quite sour. The smoke is not that prominent compared to other Ardbegs. It smells like candy from a metallic box. It actually seems like a gentle Ardbeg. The wood is prominent on the palate as well, together with smoke! In addition I get raspberries and ammonia lozenges. It appears to be rough but at the same time quite gentle. I guess the raspberries are hiding the roughness. The finish is peat and candy. It lingers. This is not a typical Ardbeg. A bit too woody to my taste (and compared to Dark Cove Committee Release), but it became better after spending a while in the glass.
My score: nose 21 / taste 22 / finish 21 / balance 22 = 86
– Tone
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