Ardbeg Blasda
Ardbeg Light
0 281
Review by @markjedi1
- Nose~
- Taste~
- Finish~
- Balance~
- Overall81
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OK, for starters, this is only the second Ardbeg I've tried, after the 10 Year Old (which is without a doubt one of the best Scotch's I've had so far). So Blasda gets a head start. And since Blasda is gaelic for 'sweet and delicious', expectations are high.
Blasda is sometimes referred to as the 'Ardbeg Light'. I'm sure the people at Ardbeg are not very fond of this nickname, but it's not illogical to be called that, being bottled at 'only' 40% ABV (while apart from Serendipity, all other Ardbegs are at least 46% ABV) and 'only' 8 ppm (while their other bottles are usually 24 ppm).
On the official Ardbeg site, they explain this as follows: 'We undertook an experiment: to tame our usual mighty peating levels all the way down to just 8 ppm in the bottle'.
When I first nosed this (unaged) dram, the peat was still very much present, along with some lemon juice and smoke.
On the palate, this Ardbeg is pretty soft and very clear and while some fruit comes out to play - tinned peaches turning into apples - the dram lacks body. I'm sure many Ardbeg fans will be dissappointed with this one. I'm not, but I'm certainly not impressed.
The finish is rather short and spicy, but unlike the 10 Year Old, it's fast forgotten.
Jim Murray gives this one a 90,5 in his 2010 Whisky Bible. Too much to my taste for this albeit great dram.
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Nicely reviewed, I'd be interested to try this. I saw a video review recently and its tempted me to give it a go.
The lighter peating must let through some of the other flavours which can otherwise get overpowered. 'Ardbeg Light' is probably a well chosen title, made me chuckle...