Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age:  10 years
Abv:  46%
Non Chill-filtered

Bottle Notes
Sea spray.  Tarry rope.  Immense smoky intensity.

Nose
Sea soaked bog peat, a richly aroma’d, intense and powerful noseful.  The thing I love about an early dram of Ardbeg 10 is the swamp of peat, then the billows of smoke, then the lovely, balanced marriage between the two.  Even though they temper with time in the glass, they hold strong, and distinct.  A layer of sweet orchard fruit starts to bubble through the smoky curtain.  

Palate
A wash of peat and smoke, but the chorus of sweet apple and pear come charging in behind.  Tendrils of smoke crawl about the palate, but the apple freshness keeps a sweet, lovely tone to the whole.

Finish
Mostly a sweet, lingering, fading song, with even fainter echoes of peat, smoke.  

Final Thoughts
In our early whisky days a few years back, Ardbeg 10 charged about our meager inventory with a bullish, smoky, peat laden swagger.  Oh boy, you want smoke?  Try this one!  Then one day, while enjoying a dram during a tasting night, the smoky curtain suddenly parted for me, and I looked in wonder upon a pristine orchard bursting with fresh apples and pears.  The sweetness that was hitherto hidden, was suddenly revealed, in full, bright, glorious wonder.  I was amazed by this sudden insight, and have enjoyed this whisky immensely ever since.

There is a tart sweetness that pokes through the peat and smoke in such a balanced, noticeable way, and it promises a wonder on the tongue that has yet to disappoint.  To this day, I still point at this one as my favourite whisky, the one that I would pick if I had but one bottle to have on my shelf.  It led me to other Ardbeg expressions (Wee Beastie, An Oa), and while I love the Ardbeg character in those, and appreciate their uniqueness, I still come back to the 10 as my dram of choice.  Perhaps it’s because it was the first, and one of the first whiskies I had a lightbulb moment with.