Do I buy Airigh Nam Beist or Octomore 4.1?

mmm for my taste the ANB has a more complex and satisfying profile...I was an in-your-face freak as you, but when I first tasted ANB a year ago it started to change my preferences. I'd suggest, if you already have some heavily peated beasts, to give a try to this more refined kind of what always remains a well peated dram! But of course, it's a personal opinion :) I don't think you will be disappointed, whatever your choice is! By the way, what a price! I buyed it here (the ANB) for 69 euro!

@lucadanna1985

Thanks for the reply mate. I've read that the ANB has some good complexity going on for sure. Could it be compared to any other current Ardbeg expressions? I was lucky enough to recently taste Uigeadail, Corryvreckan and Alligator all side-by-side at a Dramfest here in NZ. The Corry was probably my favorite of the three, with the Uigeadail not far behind.

of course the signature features of Ardbeg are still there, but the fruitiness and the sweet creaminess is not to be found in any other ardbeg expressions, with the partial exception of ardbeg renaissance, which is much younger...but if in a compared session you preferred the Corrycreckan you might well be an incorrigible peat freak and then the Octomore may be your best choice! :)

@lucadanna1985

Many thanks for your descriptions and thoughts. I'm still very new to the SMSW game, I predict I will eventually head in the "lighter" direction as I work my way through as many single malts as possible. I actually got into scotch through Glenfiddich 12, but it was Talisker 10 and Laphroaig 10 that started the true love affair :)

Cheers.

but it's always a matter of taste, of course after one year or two you might tend towards less direct flavours (I'm still enjoying a bunch of blends which I formerly hated), but your tastebuds might also have been created to meet peat :) as long as you enjoy and have fun I guess you can't go wrong, and I'm still a novice myself!

@lucadanna1985

Haha yes so far the taste buds and peat are a match made in heaven. I'm also loving big mouth-coating spicy Whiskies, in particular the Kilchoman 5 year old cask strength (mind blowing dram IMHO) and the Spingbank 12 year old cask strength. I just love the way they envelope all corners of the mouth, real wow factor. Actually on the lighter side, a big surprise at Dramfest was the Glenfiddich 21 year old, outstandingly smooth. I would definitely buy this.

I would buy both ot them. ANB for my collection since it is no longer available and has, in my opinion, a good chance to sell high at auction in a couple of years (and you can open it in a couple of years if it doesn't so you'll get a chance to taste it). I would open the Octomore because this is a beast! Very peated whisky on the top 3 list of best Islay malts.

@sepsism, since you want both of them (and you should), buy the ANB first. It is a close call, but the ANB will likely disappear first. NEXT WEEK you can buy the Octomore, while it is still around.

I expect that you will love them both, but the Octomore is a bigger whisky.

Being a peat freak myself I would STRONGLY encourage you to get the Octomore first . . . and try it.

First, you are almost paying a fair market price for the bottle of Octomore. The ANB is still sold in many parts of the world for about $90 USD (or 70 euro). Paying double that now as an "investment" just doesn't make sense. Heck, if you were to put a bottle of Octomore 4.1 and ANB aside for 10 years I would bet you will get more for the Octomore. The initial price is higher and there are just way less bottles of it out there.

Second, from what you said of your other Ardbeg tasting your preference seems very in line with my own. Here is what I bet you will experience with the ANB. You will love the nose, be disappointed with the mouth and be sad the finish is so short for an Ardbeg. If offere a free bottle of either Corry, Uigi, Allagator, or ANB the ANB would always be my last choice. Fantastic scotch - one of my least favorite Ardbeg expressions (great nose though).

Why buy something you are way over paying for and your gut is already telling you that you won't like as much? You seem to be hinting yourself that you might have to "learn to like" the more refined and subtle ANB. Maybe you will. What seems fairly certain is that you will enjoy the most heavily peated whisky ever made (so far) right now. And you will have the joy of experiencing the limits of peat in a whisky. I see the Octomore releases just like the Ardbeg "road to maturity". Who knows, maybe the peat freak in you might be satiated by this extreme expression of peat.

You might not like either and wish you would have spent your money on a bottle of Corry. But my guess is that either way you will be more happy with the experience and story of the Octomore then the Airigh Nam Beist.

I say never buy rare over enjoyable whisky.

All that is just my peat freakish opinion

@JoeVelo

Thanks for the reply. If only I could get both! So many other single malts on my to-buy list (Lagavulin 12 year old CS, Springbank 12 CS et al). An ever-expanding list.

From what people are telling me the ANB I've seen seems massively overpriced and wouldn't make a smart investment purely for re-selling purposes (I highly doubt I could resist the temptation of drinking it myself though, aka drinking the profits).

Out of interest what are you other top Islay Whiskies next to the Octomore?

@sepsism; I think I am with lucadanna and victor on this one. The ANB is gone when it's gone and the Octomore I expect will be an annual release. It's hard to compare a 4yr. old to an 18 yr. old, they are two different animals. I have been nursing my bottle of ANB for almost a year now and if I could find another one I would be all over it at any reasonable price. I feel your pain on prices brother, it's the same here in Vancouver, tax, tax, tax. That's the price of the social safety net, so we suck it up and pay the price for the things we've gotta have. If I were you, I would beg, borrow or steal the extra dough to get 'em both.

Cheers.

@Victor

Thanks for posting. I think you're right that the ANB will go first and I won't get another opportunity (probably ever) to own or sample it. On the other hand I think I would enjoy the Octomore more so at this point in time as just the prospect of such a Whisky makes my mouth water. Big expectations for this one!

Victor I know you're a big fan of the Uigeadail. This is high on my to-buy list (as is the Corry) after sampling it recently (although not an entirely reliable tasting as I had imbibed a good 15 different drams before it). My local carries an L11 bottling for a reasonable price, have you had a chance to sample any from this year to compare to your highly-regarded L10 stock?

@Nock

Many excellent points there mate and I agree with all of them. At the end of the day it is about enjoyment and "big and peaty" is the journey I'm currently taking.

Good advice on buying enjoyment over rarity. No matter how rare or expensive I'm not going to be able to resist the temptation of popping it open and drinking it at some stage down the line.

Many thanks mate, you have helped make this difficult decision more clear-cut.

Cheers

@BlueNote

There are some great specials here in NZ, but not for this price bracket of Whisky, alas. I hear you guys up there get a rough end of the deal on pricing as well, sorry to hear that!

I think I'm going to spend the $$ on the Octomore, but if I return a few months later and the ANB is still there I'll seriously consider it.

Cheers.

@sepsism, courtesy of @cpstecroix, I recently had some of his L11 151 Ardbeg Uigeadail. It was quite worthy and delicious. (thank you, @cpstecroix!)

For what it is worth, if I really had to pick purchasing JUST ONE between Octomore and Airigh Nam Beist for the same money, I would pick the Octomore too. My previous comment was based on the supposition that you will find a way to purchase both. If you remain firm on the one bottle only restraint, for buying and drinking with no expectation for tomorrow, then I am entirely with @Nock in preferring to choose the Octomore...but that is because my own strongest preference is for the big flavours. That said, I also have a very high opinion of Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist, mostly for beauty, not so much for power.

@Victor

Perfectly summed up (power over beauty), thanks Victor.

Of the Octomore releases to date, how many have you personally sampled? And if more than one how do they compare to each other? From what I've read the 2.2 Orpheus seems to be a favorite but I can't find many comparisons to the 4.1 (except that it is possibly a little more subdued than the first two releases?). Purely for interests sake of course, sampling earlier expressions will be unlikely event for me. Have you laid your hands on a bottle of 4.2 Comus purchance?

@sepsism, I have only had Orpheus, but there is still 2.1, 2.2, and 3 available in certain locations here. The new Comus is arriving here (DC area) soon. There are some members here (e.g. @two-bit cowboy and others) who likely know them all.

I think I may have guessed wrong when I assumed that Octomore 4.1 is 4 years old. What is the age of the various Octomores?

@BlueNote Off the top of my head, with no research whatsoever I believe they're 5 years old.

Get the Airigh Nam Beist. As you wrote it is becoming rarer by the day, while there will always be someone out there to put more and more peat into a bottle.

@olivier What he said. :-)

The Beast is a better value. I've had both. Rather the Beast.