Ardbeg 10 by Tim
- Highly regarded blend of hearty peat, and subtle sweetness.
Look: Pale Gold, Straw
Smell: Wood Smoke, Medicinal
Taste: Toffee, Sea Salt, Wood Smoke, Peat
"The entry level whisky from Ardbeg, but don't let that fool you into thinking its one to be overlooked. This whisky sets a fantastic benchmark for everything else from Ardbeg. Ardbeg 10 has a fantastic level of complexity and a real mix of flavours. Starting out with an initial sweetness, the flavour builds into an incredible intense smoky, peaty punch. All while managing to never loose that initial sweetness. This flavour profile is Ardbeg's signature, and gets refined and built upon by others in their range. It is this signature taste that makes Ardbeg 10 so popular with whisky enthusiasts around the world. "
One of my stand out favourite's, Ardbeg 10 combines so many elements of whisky for me. A range of flavours and complexity that is particularly impressive for its price point. I first tired Ardbeg 10 early on in my whisky journey, at a time where my palate favoured smooth and sweeter whisky. But even then realised this was something special. My initial impressions was that it was a peat monster, the Smokey flavour overwhelmed everything else for me. This wasn't a negative as I enjoyed it, but initially this intensity meant I enjoyed it in small quantities from time to time. I used to describe it as chewing on an oak barrel, that intense peat and smoky flavour being the key characteristic.
Over the years I kept coming back to it, and as my palate improved and evolved, I was able to pick out more flavours. I found I was no longer overwhelmed by the peat, instead being greeted with incredible sweetness. and as I drink it now, I find that sweetness can give nice subtle toffee flavours, tempered with salt and an slight medicinal kick. This then builds into that intense woody smoke and peat, while never loosing the sweetness. Those powerful and intense flavours haven't been lost or diluted by the sweetness, but added to and enhanced. For me it's a whisky that has so much to offer and can bring something different yet familiar every time you drink it. Now I find its never the wrong time for an Ardbeg 10, and I can happily sit and drink it of an evening.
But what makes the Ardbeg 10 particularly impressive, is that it does all of this at it's price point. If you shop around you can usually find it between £40 -£50, usually closer to £40. To me this whisky punches well above its price point. Yes there are whiskies with more peat, or that can offer more range of flavour. But I don't think there are many that can do it for the price and affordability of the Ardbeg 10.
If your new to whisky, you might find the peat overwhelming initially like I did. If you do and your drinking other whiskies as well, maybe save this whisky for the end of an evening. That way you won't loose the flavours of the others. But come back to this from time to time, as you get more into whisky. I'm certain you'll also start to get more out of it like I did.
And if your not new to whisky, I'm sure you have already tired this. But if by some incredible feat you haven't, do yourself the favour and get a bottle.