Ardbeg 17 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Pros: Each and aye wee dram, to the last
Cons: Auchone, auchone: Nain whateffer, at all

There are three whisky distilleries – yes, of course singlemalt – on Islay that between them produce my three favorite singlemalts. As we approach the best of all Scots whiskies, in this weekend's Sip-Off (watch this space! By the way,...

Pros: Wonderful salty, smoky character
Cons: None for me

Pros: Peaty but not overpowering
Cons: At $72 per bottle, it is quite expensive

The three mightiest scotch whiskies in all of Scotland, lie a scant few miles from each other along the rugged shores of the southern reaches of the Isle of Islay. I have experienced the peaty pleasures of Laiphroig and Laglavulin on many occasions, but...

Pros: Sweet, peaty/smokey, drinkable
Cons: none

I must admit, I'm pretty happy. As I sit here typing this review I'm staring at a very healthy pour of Ardbeg 17 year old. I know what's coming - a long sweet blast of peat and smoke. Mmmm... my mouth is watering.

Islay is a small island...

Pros: Balanced, Islay character yet delicate
Cons: A little more expensive than Highland Park 12, Talisker and others

I started off the Christmas 2000 weekend by opening up a recent acquisition. A bottle of Ardbeg 17 year.

I poured myself a very generous measure. It is a pale orangey color, almost like an english lager, the nose is certainly Islay-like...

Pros: Perfection, Excellence, Master Craftmanship, Best Integration of flavors.
Cons: Not for the timid.

Ardbeg! You open the bottle and you can smell its aroma from across the room. The smell alone takes you to the hull of a ship docked off the coast of Islay. Sea air, peat burning, leather and oak. Ah! But to taste it tells a deeper story about a land...

Pros: Excellent full and rich flavor; the most complex of the Islay single malts.
Cons: At about $80.00 a bottle, it's more expensive than many of its colleagues.

Ardbeg 17 year old is on the "must" list for lovers of Islay single malts. The peatiness is there in abundance, but this is by far the smoothest, most complex of the deservedly famous Islay whiskeys. Chocolate and caramel undertones sweeten and...

Pros: One of the finest of out of 40 or more different whiskys tasted.
Cons: Down to my last dram and don't know when I'll see another....

This whisky has a nose that hints of peat and vanilla and seems to fill the room with a gentle aroma. Everything is in balance, with the whisky rolling back and forth across the palate revealing the sweetness of the malt with a background of mild dark chocolate. The finish seems to go on and on, gradually disappearing so quietly it is hard to tell that it has gone.

Pros: Wonderful, potent, but nuanced Islay malt.
Cons: Anyone within 10 feet can smell the nose.

The 17 year has always impressed me for how gentle it is, despite the power of the nose. What is even more impressive to me is how little it loses to the 27 year bottling, despite the marked price differential. Good value and a monument to Islay.