Islay and peaty whisky

Different strokes for different folks. That's one of the things that makes scotch so great, IMO. You can get a real peaty Islay scotch if that's what you like, or go with a sweeter light Highland. I think that there is something for all of us in the multitude of scotch offerings. Personally, I love a Lagavulin or Laphroaig on a cool Autumn or Winter evening!

Liking heavily peated whisky flavours is an acquired taste. Some people never acquire that taste. There is of course no reason why anyone would ever have to. You mention also brine flavours. Brine flavours are a separate set of flavours, but often associated with the heavy peating of, eg many of the Islay whiskies. Strong brine can also be present without a lot of peat, such as with Old Pulteney 12, which has significant brine, but in which peating is almost invisible to the palate. I see all of the various whisky flavour profiles as being like different flavour profiles of food types. Sometimes you are in the mood for one flavour profile, sometimes a very different one. American whiskeys are usually sweet and sour, while malts often engage salty, bitter, and also some sweet flavours. It took me awhile to acquire a taste for the heavily peated Islay whiskies. It is there now, but it is a particular mood or frame of mind. When I want to drink those I will probably not be in a frame of mind in which I could enjoy a wheated bourbon. And vice versa. It is possible, though, to like them all.

just matter of taste...as I wrote somewhere on the site, Lagavulin was my first single malt ever, and I had to acquire the tast to go back from Islay and enjoy lghter malts or bourbons (thank you @Victor)...it's not something you can explain, when I tasted it I just thought WTF is this? And what the hell I have been drinking until now? But months after, when I brought home my bottle of Ardbeg 10 knowing that my father was a long-time whisky lover, he was going to spit it...that's it, he is happy with his ballantine's :)

@wylcx I can safely say we'll never come to blows over the last dram. I can't get enough of the smokey peaty earthy stuff. I've had Ardbeg Supernova and wished it would go to another level still.

@Victor That says it all! Bravo.

Some people like hazelnut coffee. I prefer mine as black and strong as I can get it. Simple matter of preference.

I'm sitting here drinking a laphroaig 10 and absolutely loving the strong peat and smoke. The strong oak taste is very prevalent, as is a harshness that lets you taste the rain on the scottish coastline, but at the same time there is a subtle sweetness to it. It's a phenomenal drink.

@Wodha With you all the way on that one mate.

@Victor

I contacted Ardbeg online and here's their response:

Dear Adrian,

Many thanks for your email and apologies for the delay in responding to you.

We’re sorry that you were disappointed with your bottle of Ardbeg.

Many malt whiskies which originate from the island of Islay intend to have quite distinguishable and distinctive sensory characteristics. For example you may pick up on either nose or palette flavour characteristics of peat, smoke, salt, iodine and medicinal notes. Mouth feel sensations can be drying, and astringency may also be noted.

We would expect such characteristics from our Ardbeg products, it can be common for consumers to recognise the naturally occurring flavour components, which can be described as medicinal or even “TCP”.

Like all products, the individual sensory attributes of this, is subject to the personal preference of the consumer.

We hope this has helped in answering your enquiry, should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards Laura

Contact request from Ardbeg Website.

Name: Adrian Ball Email:adrianldball@gmail.com Country:Australia Comments:I purchased a bottle of Ardbeg 10 yr old last year from Dan Murphys. I normally drink Glenfiddich, Bruichladdich & Highland Park.

The 10 yr old Ardbeg was undrinkable and smelt like TCP. I took it back to Dan Murphys and they allowed me to exchange it for a bottle of Glenlivet.

I've read good reviews for Ardbeg so I'm wondering what went wrong with that particular bottle?

Cheers, Adrian

@wylcx, the only way to tell an unrepresentatively 'bad' bottle (or batch) from the more typical offerings of that whisky is to do side by side tastings of the whiskies from maybe, three separate batches (or bottles, if batch information is unavailable) for comparison. Ardbeg stamps each batch with a pale white code identifying year, date, and time of the bottling of that particular batch, so it is obvious when you have Ardbeg whiskies from different batch bottlings. There is a long discussion of the differences in batches in my review of Ardbeg Uigeadail, A Tale of Two Uigeadails. There ARE some "off" bottles sometimes, and defintely some lesser batches. I do understand your dilemma that when you have had an unpleasant experience once with a whisky you may be reluctant to want to buy another bottle, or even another drink, of it. I have had that initial unpleasant experience with several whiskies about which later experiences have proven better. When I have had those balancing experiences, I usually consider the totality a "wash": I no longer think poorly of that product in general, but I am reluctant to buy a bottle when I am not sure what to expect from it.

Of course, it is also entirely possible that you just don't like the flavour profile of Ardbeg 10, and that you will rediscover that fact with repeated tastings of it from various batches. Only having the tasting experiences will reveal the actual answers for you.

Cheers,

Victor

@wylcx, one final comment, from what you have said, if I had to bet on it, my money would be wagered that you do not like the flavour profiles of Ardbeg 10 or other heavily peated briny "medicinal" whiskies, in general. At least, not at this point in time.

@wylcx, Some people like Vegemite on their toast and some people don't. But sometimes one can grow to like vegemite. It takes a little time and perseverance to understand.

I was like you too in not liking Islays. It took me a decade to understand. But now I cannot get enough.

@whiskyshiba. My experience with Islays is exactly the same as yours. Took a while, but suddenly I got it, and it was an Ardbeg 10 from a duty free that finally did it. Can't get enough now. @victor. Spot on brother. @wylcx. Don't push it, it will either happen or it won't. Just know that a whole lot of us probably had the same initial reaction as you. Cheers.

@whiskyshiba Do you like Vegemite?

@wylcx, I do like it, along with poi, natto, li hing.

The joys of whisky if you don't like one there's always another to try. Personally I found that when I first open a bottle it takes a day or so to mellow the whisky out a bit. This worked with Bowmore darkest and Laphroaig 10 yr. Don't get me wrong the characteristics are still there making it what it is just not so much that it feels like your being punched in the face. I now quite enjoy both of them when the mood strikes me. I have yet to try Ardberg 10 as it is stupidly expensive here but one day I'll have a dram most likely at a local restaurant just to see if I like it before I buy.

@ganagati A positive review on here for Laphroaig mentioned that the nose smelt like mothballs.

I like the fact that you wrote to Ardbeg complaining about it's flavor. One of the World's best whiskies. And their reply was golden.

I'm glad there's a difference of opinion. Otherwise we all be drinking one kind. Thank goodness for variety.

@Wodha Yes, she didn't deny that the Ardbeg 10 yr. old smells like TCP. Why would you like a drink that tastes like Band-Aids with smoked kippers? The manager at Dan Murphys thought it smelt disgusting and almost vomited.

I can honestly say I've never detected moth balls on a nosing. Regardless, it comes back to the same thing: personal preference. There is, most fortunately for all of us here, a great percentage of the world's population that would turn their head in disgust at the taste of ANY scotch whisky. To them, they would all taste the same, whether it be a dram of Ardbeg Supernova Committee Release, Macallan 30 Sherry Cask, or Cuttysark.

I remember my first taste of scotch. In college (nearly a decade ago), I was given a glass from "a $100+ bottle of scotch," and I spat it out. It tasted like rubbing alcohol. Of course, at the time, I was fine with drinking 100 proof southern comfort straight from the bottle... Suffice it to say my tastes have evolved to the point that I now appreciate the subtleties of a good whisky - including those of what is often a complex and very flavorful Isaly whisky. I would suggest that you give it some time and a few more tries, but it seems you have your mind more than made up at this point.

For Gods sakes people, stop trying to convince him! The more people who believe as wylcx believes, the more Islay bottles for the rest of us!