Talisker 10 or Ardbeg 10?

No question. The Ardbeg 10yo. The recent batches from 2014 and 2015 have been good (not necessarily great). I heard on Whiskycast that Dr. Bill Lumsden took a personal hand in shoring up the flavor profile of the Ardbeg TEN in 2014. And I can say that the last batch I tried (L61270 03/03/2015 - so March 3rd 20015) was well above average.

To contrast that, my last 3 bottles of of the Talisker 10yo have been awful. My last "good" bottle was from 2005 (and was fantastic). Three strikes and I am done. I won't buy another bottle of Talisker 10yo until I taste a "good" sample from a recent batch.

Ardbeg 10 is much more exciting.

I'd also go with the ardbeg. I've always found the talisker a bit rough

I'm partial to the Talisker 10 yr.

Ardbeg 10 much better for me if it's on form. But I had a 2013 litre bottle that was just awful - nothing but peat and bitterness. Recent ones I have tried have all been very good though.

Serge at Whiskyfun writes:

Ardbeg 10 yo 'Ten' (46%, OB, +/- 2015) Colour: white wine. Nose: starts with rather more ginger and green pepper than I remembered, as if the proportion of ‘active oak’ had been raised, but I really enjoy this very dry profile. Plenty of seawater, oysters, wet dogs (we’re sorry, dogs), carbon paper, freshly ground pepper, garden bonfire, wet limestone… There’s even a very particular smell that only old guys and girls can understand, ‘opening a new audiocassette’. And the smell of a brand new Walkman to boot. Lastly, some raw malted barley, so I would call this style ‘kilny’. Mouth: just excellent. More and more whisky lovers are claiming that the Ten beats all special editions, and I think they might right. And since the Ten pays the bills, nobody should complain. Anyway, brine, almond oil, bitter apples, seashells, diesel oil, hessian, liquorice wood, juniper, caraway… Everything is to like. Good body, perfect mouth feel. Finish: long, salty, sharp, very smoky. Comments: that the new Ten killed the 1990 would be an understatement. In truth, the Ten may have improved. Great work, Ardbeg. SGP:358 - 89 points.

Talisker 10 yo (45.8%, OB, late 2014) Colour: gold. Nose: better rounded, and rather more herbal than I remembered. Caraway, cumin… Then more damp chalk and clay, antiseptic, braking fluid, creosote, notes of overripe oranges, bandages, oysters ‘from yesterday’… There is some wildness, and yet it’s clean and precise spirit. Love it. Always loved it. Mouth: amazing. Everything’s perfect. Lemon, wet clothes, raw wool, grains, porridge (not my favourite food, though), pepper, some kind of green curry, seaweed (the stuff our Japanese friends serve as salad, the name escapes me)… Frankly, this is great whisky. Finish: long, salty, clean, and yet complex, and yet finely delimited (what?) Comments: bang for your buck! Having said that, I’m feeling that Talisker’s becoming more medicinal these days. And maybe peatier again. Nice cure, nice cure. SGP:367 - 91 points.

It's nice that I can buy either of these fine whiskies less than a mile from my house

In my opinion recent bottelings of both are very high quality. I´d say it depends on whether you in general prefer Ardbeg or Talisker. Personally I LOVE Talisker, and I feel uncomfortable if I don´t have a T10 in my cabinet. I also very much enjoy my Ardbeg 10, but I´m not sure I´ll replace it when it´s empty. Where I live the Corryvreckan is not that much more, and I clearly prefer the Corryvreckan to the 10. Or you could of course do the right thing, which is to get both. Both of them offer excellent value for Money in my opinion.

@LarsA

Or, more frugally, I could get neither......and then go visit you...

@Nozian That is of course also an option. If you´re ever in Denmark you´re welcome.

I think a plane ticket to Denmark would cost more than the two bottles. Just a guess

Ardbeg 'Corryvreckan' (57.1%, OB, +/- 2012) Five stars Or is it +/-2013? I really enjoyed the first Corryvreckan back in around 2008 (WF 90) and it's quite refreshing that Ardbeg have kept this bottling in their range, although I guess newer batches are now younger. Let's see... Colour: pale gold. Nose: starts crisp and pure, although rather less ‘Ardbeg’ then earlier botlings. In a way, this could be mistaken for Caol Ila, not a bad thing, obviously. That means we find apple peelings, seaweed, whiffs of garden bonfire, then a little antiseptic, camphor, grapefruit and plain seawater. Almost forgot our bellowed whelks ;-). With water: things keep improving. More smoke, ‘a working kiln’, smoked fish, hessian… and all that jazz. Mouth (neat): rich, punchy, more Ardbeg, with an oily mouth feel. Peat smokiness, lemons, grapefruits, touches of salt, bitter grass and just a little aniseed and liquorice wood. I find this pretty excellent. More vanilla and light honey after one minute or two. With water: it’s funny how it gets both smokier and sweeter. Smoked vanilla cream? Smoked maple syrup? Also a little ‘green’ coffee. Finish: long, salty, very smoky, with notes of cider apples this time. Comments: maybe the Ardbeggest current Ardbeg. Quality remains high. SGP:458 - 90 points.

@LarsA

My wife has a friend living in Denmark, and if we ever go visit I'll be in touch. I'd rather have a dram of each with you than a bottle of each back home.

Tried the Talisker last night and Ardbeg tonight at pubs. They are so different, almost beyond compare. The Ardbeg is industrial and protean whereas the Talisker is elegant and more ethereal. I think I may just get both or settle on a bottle of Corryvreckan. I have not tasted that in ages. But for the money, Ardbeg 10 is hard to beat. Reminds me of the ferry docks in the Puget Sound. Can almost here the plaintive cry of gulls and the lapping of waves upon the pilons.

If I was a dram a day guy (which I'm not), I could sip either of these happily. Both are in my top favourite 10 year olds.