After reading the label I had to buy a bottle of it. Anybody tried this one yet? I’d like to wait till the weather cools a bit before opening.
It is delicious. Have one for me.
Awesome stuff, but not sure if that’s because I’m an Islay freak. That said, out of the TEN, Uigeadahl, Airigh Nam Beist (no longer made), and Corryvreckan, the Corry is my favorite on most nights. Just reminds me of a delicious smoky bbq by the seashore, packed with flavor.
We have two bottles of the 1990 Airigh Nam Beist on the shelf. I guess I should snag one of those as well?
$107.99 shelf price, $91.79 for me. You in for a bottle?
If you like Ardbeg, I think the ANB is definitely worth your time. It is definitely not as peaty as the other usual Ardbeg releases, but I find it an interesting diversion (a gentler kind of peat, if you will). I have not had really old Ardbeg (as in 1970s Ardbeg) but I’ve read from others that the ANB reminds them of old Ardbeg. I have a really soft spot for ANB. When I stick my nose in it, it reminds me of sitting in an old train with worn out leather seats, like the ones I grew up with as a kid… I stocked up a few bottles earlier in the year when my local store closed them out. Thanks though. Honestly, I thought the ANB was always a pretty good bargain, considering it’s at least 16 years old (all 1990 stock, and depending on whether you get a bottle that was released in 2006, 2007, or 2008).
The last true, great Ardbeg was distilled in 1977, before Allied mothballed the distillery first in 1981, then sold it to Glenmorangie in 1997. ANB (1990) was the last of the pre-Glenmo Ardbegs to be bottled and sold. The newer stuff isn’t the same, or as good. The best theory that I’ve heard is that when Ardbeg abandoned coal fired stills, they lost the uneven, unpredictable firings that the labor-intensive, semi-controlled coal fires produced.
The 60s and 70s Ardbegs taste nothing like anything produced since. ANB is the best of what came later, but it isn’t a patch on the whisky distilled in 1977 and before. The new stuff is all fire and brimstone, lacking in the richness and coffee and demerrara and creosote flavors that Ardbeg once was.
Most things from the past aren’t as great as we think they were. Scotch whisky distilled in the days of floor maltings of locally grown barley, fired by coal fires, are the exception. Particularly: Ardbeg, Springbank, The Macallan and, to a lesser degree, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, not to mention those distilleries that are extinct: Port Ellen and Brora, highlighting that list.
Thanks for that tidbit. Love learning about the history of scotch whisky.