Ardbeg 10 Year Old

Can you share what the label code is on your bottle? The numbers that are written in white on the lower back of the bottle beginning with an "L" such as "L12 235 10:23 6ML"

Looks like 13001047 engraved in the glass on the lower left back bottom, but the last two numbers are barely legible. This was a US purchase.

Thanks for looking. That number is actually a quality control number. There should be a second list of white numbers (or etched into the glass) about the same size in a different location that being with an "L" and end with something that looks like "6ML."

I say this because I am doing a study on batch variation. The "L" number tells me which batch it was from. The most recent bottle I picked up L13 003 09:21 6ML is not very good at all. I might give it the same score you did (low 80's). However, I have a bottle from 2011 (L11 194 03:21 6ML) that is amazing (I would say low 90's).

So if you wouldn't mind checking again I would appreciate the information. Perhaps try the lower right side of the back under the embossed word "Limited"

Thanks and thanks for your review I agree that adding a few drops of a not-so-great peated malt to an uneventful non-peated malt can create something far better their either on their own.

Ah yes, right under the word Limited. Gosh, had you not said that, I would have never found it. It is L13 042 1642 6ML

Bingo?!!!!

That is it. Thank you! So your bottle was filled in 2013 (L13) on the 42nd day of the year (042) being Feb. 11th at 16 hours (so 4pm) and 42 minutes.

Funny, I have an Uigeadail with L13 058 so that is Feb. 27th. My Ardbeg TEN is from Jan. 3rd. It wasn't very good. It had a ton of lime and cream to it . . . cream in my Ardbeg? Yup! So it sounds like Ardbeg is off to a bad start in 2013.

But don't despair. They usually do pick up from batch to batch. I believe that we need to communicate good and bad batches to be on the look out for.

My advice is to look for that number on any bottle of Ardbeg you buy . . . and find a different number from what you bought! I am sure the sample you had in the bar was from a different batch (obviously older).

That is incredible! So yes, the shot that I ordered from the bar was what prompted me to buy a bottle the next day. However, I had to use a magnifying glass under direct light to be able to read those numbers. I am sure that the bartender would do that for me and also be thankful for the information, since he is more knowledgable than I on single malts. If I find the numbers from that bottle in the bar, I will let you know. As far as checking those numbers in a liquor store, all of our single malts in the USA are sold in gift boxes, so I would need to ask a clerk if it was okay to pull the bottle out. However, Bowmore 15 is now my new peated favorite, which is much darker and richer. So regardless of batch numbers, it does not look like I will be buying any more Ardbeg 10, and that bottle will be lasting quite a while to be used mainly for seasoning. I also don't see my liquor cabinet growing and everything in it is rated by me between 82 and 95, and does not really need any "seasoning".

I have found significant variation with the 10. I had a bottle last year that was unbelievably good (93!). It raised the hair on my neck as it was that good! The next one was blah(85). Checked the codes and found the good one was L11 195. Went out and found two more 195's and a 193. Tried one of the 195's, and voila, again I was entering nirvana! I haven't opened the other two as I haven't found any more. It's interesting that your 194 was so good and gives me hope the 193 will also be stellar.

I just lowered my score from 82 to 69, which falls under "repulsive". I have only had this bottle for about two months and very little was sampled from it. So, on the last dram I told myself that this tastes so bad that I could probably use it to kill an out of control Chinese fan palm in my yard. Sure enough, I poured the rest of this bottle onto the unruly plant, and several days later, the plant finally appeared to have died. So, if this stuff works better than Roundup for killing plants, why on earth would anyone want to drink it. This was my first and last try for Ardbeg. Sorry. (I did want to make the score lower than 69, but did not want to affect the overall rating for those who did not get a bad bottle.)

I also got a February 2013 bottle of Ardbeg 10 that was pretty much undrinkable. I am a big fan of heavily peated whiskies, but this had no sweetness at all, which just made it very austere and unattractive dramming. Given the ridiculously high prices for a bottle of 10 year old Ardbeg, this has really put me off buying it again.

Different whisky, but yet another head scratcher...My 3 bottles of Uigeadail (all from the same batch) I felt were never up to the standards of what most depict...I'm glad I was able to unload 1 bottle in exchange for 2 Balvenie 14 yr Caribbean Cask.