Dr. Scotchtagon Presents: Ardbeg 10-Year-Old

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

(Full disclosure: I own a boatload of LVMH stock. Ardbeg is owned by Glenmorangie, which is owned by LVMH. I bought the stock as a hedge against the vast amounts of champagne that Ms. Octagon quaffs on a daily basis.)

I have to tip my hat to Bernard Arnault; in addition to boning Salma Hayek, the two distilleries he owns are both top notch. But the real kudos should be going to Dr. Bill Lumsden, who is Glenmorangie’s director of distilleries. But what exactly is he a doctor of?  In Scotland, being able to make a good whisky qualifies you as a medical doctor.

Ardbeg is one of the most famously funk Islay malts. When I say funky, it means the process of drying the malt via a peat fire causes this whisky to have a really pronounced smokey flavor. Right up there with Laphroaig. The first time I tried this whiskey, I was overwhelmed by the smoke. But once I watered it down, it was pretty sweet and a really good value. I paid like 45 bucks for a bottle Jim Murray rates highly in his Whisky Bible.  (An essential read for any lover of brown booze; have the iPad/iPhone app version. It’s a little slow on my 3GS, but works perfectly on the iPad 3. It’s super useful to have on your phone at all times, so I would recommend the digital version over the deadtree edition.)

From what I’ve heard, there is a lot of American oak in this scotch, which is they use to make bourbon. It adds a nice vanilla flavor. In addition, the stills have some reflux in them that causes extra copper contact and makes the spirit sweeter. I’m not sure how that works exactly, but this is a fight blog you’re reading. I think the copper removes the parts that taste bad, but maybe I’ll have to follow up on that in my next post.

Jim Murray claims he detects lime in this whiskey. I don’t. Without water, it tastes like sitting downwind from a campfire. With water, the taste opens up; very sweet with vanilla and a nice, balanced amount of smoke. Very good. I’m going to buy this one again.

I give it a 157.3 out of 158.3