Ardbeg Dark Cove

Which version of the Dark Cover was it? What did you love about it?

Glad to hear you liked it, sad to hear its gone!

I Don't know which Dark Cove it is, all i know was that my wife bought me it a couple of years ago, it's 46.5% abv and was absolutely beautiful. there's no markings on the bottle or the box. i love the rich smokey taste and the iodine hint, i''ve been a fan of the Ardbegs for some time. I had a Corryvrekkan in the dome in Edinburgh last year plus the Uigedail, both of which i enjoyed immensely but the Dark Cove had a richer flavour, well i thought so.

photo attached

@dramsam That's a nice photo. Looks like the general Dark Cove release. I had an opportunity to buy it for about $140. Non CS and NAS I turned it down. I tasted the Committee Release a short time later, and it was excellent.

@dramsam, congrats on the retirement and a nice gift from your wife to celebrate it. What's going to be the next bottle to get your Ardbeg fix?

I haven't had the chance to taste this one. I too like @Nozinan had the chance to buy this one on my trip to Calgary, at a pretty good price to boot but passed.

I really enjoy the mix of Ardbeg and sherry butt I'm not kicking myself too hard as there's plenty of Oogie to go around.

I still really wish they'd just release a cask strength version of the 10 yr old...even as an annual limited run.

Avtually i think 46%abv is strong enough to carry the flavour of the ten yr old. have you tried the Corryvrekkan?

@dramsam, I can't dispute what you say about the Ten being plenty good at 46%. But even so, I'd race @cricklewood to get my paws on some CS Ten!

@dramsam, I'm not complaining, I think Ardbeg 10 is an iconic malt and it's one we would do well to remember when we complain about NAS and all that it delivers the goods.

I'm just musing that instead of the plethora of committee releases that don't always deliver the goods, a solid CS 10 years old would be pretty sweet. There was that Japan only release but secondary market prices and all.

Tell us more about this Japan-only release of which you speak.

@MadSingleMalt in 2003 I believe it was there was a limited run of Ardbeg 10 CS for Japan, I believe it was under a 1000 bottles.

There was also the first batch of Ardbeg MOR, this was a Jeroboam (4.5L) of Ardbeg 10 at cask strength...I know it sounds like some something a marketing exec came up with while under a mescaline induced bender but it's real. The second batch of MOR was done at the standard bottling strength of 46%. These are the only instances of Ardbeg 10 CS I know about but I'm no expert, they do pop up on The whisky exchange or Auction sites at times.

There are Jeroboams of Ooogie around too, I've very much considered splurging for one, the price on this one actually scales up well, I think this would be a great talking piece for a restaurant or bar.

@cricklewood, sweet info! Thanks.

I never heard of jeroboams before. Wowza. I guess they're like those giant Peat Monster bottles that @victor once talked me out of buying. (Thanks, BTW.) If it was a giant Ardbeg, though, it could be worth getting that much!

@MadSingleMalt my pleasure.

I worked in a restaurant where the maître d'hôtel would serve complimentary pours from a double magnum of Armagnac. It never failed to stir conversation and likely created fond memories for the guests.

I actually purchased a magnum of peat monster albeit a different version than @Victor. This one is the cask strength release.

@cricklewood, yeah, I can definitely see its value as a conversation piece. Now you're making me reconsider the huge bottle of Peat Monster again!

I'm pretty sure the one at my local shop is the cask-strength version too. 10th anniversary bottle, maybe? Sumpin' like dat.

Oh I didn't mean to stir up FOMO. In my case it was on sale for 100$ which was too good a deal to pass up. Plus I figured it would be a fun thing to open up for my 40th birthday to share with friends. I also am curious to do the side-by-side comparison of the standard 46% abv vs. CS

@cricklewood When I turned 40 my special treat would have been an XL diet coke...

@Nozinan, you wouldn't have use the diet coke to drink with Black Bowmore?

@cricklewood, @Nozinan likes his Diet Coke. He might not have used the Black Bowmore to drink with his Diet Coke.

@Victor @cricklewood

Many years ago I was at a bar meeting some friends prior to a meeting, and I asked for a diet coke. I called the server back and said "this is too sweet to be diet coke". She said, "diet coke? I thought you said rye and coke".

I could have tolerated regular coke...but I would not have accepted rye and coke. I doubt, in those days, that I would have appreciated Black Bowmore alone or as a mixer.

I can tell you, if I were serving a bottle of Black Bowmore, that I would hide it at the first sight of @Talexander and a can of gingerale...

@Nozinan, fear not! Black Bowmore would remain safe. I would intervene with a bottle of Alberta Premium 30 YO to counter the Canada Dry.

@paddockjudge A noble sacrifice indeed, but it would not be necessary with just a modicum of self restraint !

@Nozinan Alas, has this dead horse not been sufficiently beaten yet??