Ardbeg SMWS 33.109

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, SMWS for short, bottled this Ardbeg at the age of 11 years in 2011. It came from a refill sherry cask and is their 109th bottling from this distillery already. The whisky is nicknamed ‘Delightful Intensity of Sherry and Smoke’. Let us see if it can live up to that.

Wow, what a strong nose! The first thing that appears in my mind’s eye is masterly barbecue ham, cooked and with rind! Then some ashes, like from a hearth that slowly died. Some salt and oyster sap. But the peat is, surprisingly for such a young Ardbeg, less pronounced. The sherry kicks in: sultanas, peach, caramelized oranges, toffee. Then some tar pops up, followed by light brown sugar. Back and forth, wonderful balance.

It is clearly Ardbeg on the palate: smoke and ashes first, followed immediately by the dark side of sherry. Wonderfully sweet alternates with pretty salty. Islay on sherry is watched Argus-eyed, but they do have some gems, you know.

The finish is long enough to read two to three articles in your favorite whisky magazine, which is what I am doing right now.

Yep, the name is well chosen. This whisky sports a delightful intensity of sherry and, to a lesser degree, smoke. Only for members of the SMWS, somewhere between 65 and 70 EUR.

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