What's your favorite Ardbeg?

Uigeadail. Life-changing. I have a bottle of Airigh Nam Beist but it has yet to be opened. I am in great anticipation.

@OCeallaigh, Uigeadail it is. Thanks mate. I want to start off easy and then work my way up to the Supernovas, Provenance, and Alligator (if it ever comes out).

Btw, nice suit. I too love me a great suit. Savile Row (Richard James), Borrelli, Kiton, Tom Ford...etc I could go on forever.

@whiskyshiba my personal favourite is currently Corryveckran, but I've tasted just a part of their regular range (10, Uigeadail, Renaissance and Nam Beist)...I love all of them and have never been disappointed, but I must say I have a soft spot for everything that starts with an A and ends with Rdbeg :) By the way, are the Provenance prices approachable in your neck of the wood? Here prices literally make you sh*t in your pants :)

Nam Beist has been my favorite, but every time I've had an Ardbeg, it's been with a group or in a multi-bottle tasting, so I've never really focused on them. Enjoyed them all.

Simple - Ardbeg 10- amazing every day dram!

@Whiskyshiba. I'm with Cardinal, Ardbeg 10. You can't go wrong if you start there and work your way up. The price is right and it's always available at duty free shops. That's the one that changed my attitude to peated whisky and although I have Uigeadail and Beist in my cabinet, I always go to the 10 when I feel like a dram of definitive Ardbeg. I think it may even be the definitive Islay. Cheers.

Thank you all for your fine recommendations. I will start with the Uigeadail, then the 10yr, Corry, and the ANB. Its been unseasonably cold and rainy here in L.A. area, perfect for a strong Islay.

@lucadanna1985, The Provenance is very hard to find here and prices range from $1500-$2500. I would have to make the rounds at private whisky/cigar clubs to acquire it. TWE has a few of them for sale but buying from TWE can become a dangerous addiction..lol

My favourite is Uigeadail!!!!!! Initial alcolic explosion in the mouth.....Are there the firefighters??????

I'm hooked. The Uigeadail was fantastic. Similar to the Laphroaig 25 CS but sweeter and with less iodine. I like the Uigeadail better. I know that price should never be a factor, but its also 1/3 the cost the the Laph25.

If this Uigeadail is this good at such a young aging, I wonder how good their older whiskies taste?

On to the Ten year next. I had to special order the ANB, nobody seems to have those in CA.

@whiskyshiba Uigeadail is a good way I think to work up to the mega peats like Supernova, because Uigeadail is sherried and the sweetness balances the peat really nicely. Mmmm Kiton suiting. Bella. Real men wear suits. ;)

@OCeallaigh, I totally agree. The Uigeadail was a revelation.

I just picked up the 10yr, Corry, and ANB. My local liquor shoppe just received a case of the ANB and priced it at USD$86.99 which I hope qualifies as a "steal of a deal."

I'm slowly saving up for the 1974 Provenance USA Bottling.

After trying a bevy of Ardbegs, my favorite would have to be the Uigeadail.

After decades of drinking sherried whiskies, I'm sherried out. Going to focus on Islays and Campbeltowns (picked up a Longrow 14).

For me, right now, it's Corryvrekan followed closely by Uigeadail. My all-time favorite Ardbeg is the 2009 release of Supernova. I thought the 2010 Supernova was lacking.

By the way, I have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts on this thread. Well done!

By the way, forgot to add, if you have access to the Whisky Society bottles, you should try to get your hands on 33.91 (Barbeque on the beach at sundown). It's a 9 year old Ardbeg that is simply amazing! It's not sherried, but an explosion of flavor and the finish sticks around for a really long time.

Pretty much every Ardbeg distilled in the 70's is great. After that, I think Lagavulin or Laphroaig made better whisky.

Ardbeg 1974 Provenance is wonderful. I tried the version for Europe yesterday at a tasting. We all went quiet for a while.

@WhiskyNotes that sounds like a mystical experience...so do you think the current laphroaig or lagavulin range beats ardbeg's one or are you referring to the period before the glenmorangie takeover?

The distillery was closed from 1980 until the reopening by Glenmorangie in 1997. So yes I think Laphroaig and Lagavulin have a more consistent production with less focus on marketing.

@WhiskyNotes that story of the marketing is something I cannot understand...in the long-term view, what is the point in keeping the prices so high? I'm talking abouth both the core Ardbeg range and the special bottlings...not to mention single casks, they're simply out of reach for most whisky drinkers...on the contrary, I really appreciate Laphroaig's price policy, their whisky is still something to drink and not to collect...

@lucadanna1985, Laphroaig's pricing would be Beam Brands Global's pricing: all about consistency, wide distribution, and market share

@Victor I'm not very much into such matters, but I appreciate :) the guys at ardbeg's usually command very high prices also for young whisky, which in my opinion is putting a strain on their aficionados' patience (including me)...we just have to wait and see if the rope will brek...

@lucadanna1985, how much of the expense is Ardbeg and how much is importation duties and taxes? I don't know the answer, but I DO know that Ardbegs cost 40% as much where I live than they do in many countries of the world.

@Victor I'm speaking also about the current prices in Scotland...different bottlings are hardly comparable, but I mean that if Ardbeg comes out with a special bottling, it will be probably over-priced, while, for example, Laphroaig will make you pay their quarter cask for what it really is: a pretty young whisky, fairly priced (less than 30 pounds)...even their 18 yo is around 60 euro, that would be unimaginable for an Ardbeg...