Ardbeg 1990 Airigh Nam Beist

Nose: First up is wet moss with ocean misting over you. A bag of salted pretzels opens up, plus some toasty caramel syrup and traditionally glazed donuts. Whole toasted coriander lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle as well as some dried lavender and the bright citrusy pop of spruce tips pop off like a laser light show. The nose alone is thrilling theater.

Taste: Peat so soft and lovely you could nap on it. Soft caramel chews, but the very expensive sort from France which has a complex quality (hard to describe!). There’s a character of malt here that feels mystical. I want to keep this flavor memory forever. Vanilla bean paste is here as well as the most luxurious sugar cookie you’ll ever eat. This whisky is extraordinarily earthy and elemental.

Finish: An Islay finish if there ever was one, but mature and sure of itself in the way that charms you completely.

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