Ardbeg Blasda

First review! Recently celebrated Ardbog Day 2013 with my father, family, and some friends. Had an all day whisky tasting with food pairings. We like to try and pair food to whisky though that doesn't always pan out. I will probably share more of the actual event in the forums sometime (with pics). It was an all day affair with three "meals." Small pours and lots of food. We decided to start with the lightest Ardbeg we had. Ardbeg Blasda was paired with grilled watermelon with balsamic vinegar and black sea salt.

Color: lightest gold.

Nose: opens with cream and limes, then some sweetness, like cotton candy, and the peat is definitely present, maybe something like bandaids, and a little salty breeze.

Taste: light in the glass and on the palate, again soft citrus, gentle peat, a little salt and barely there pepper.

Finish: short to medium, sweet and peaty, fragrant incense without a lot of heavier smoke.

Overall a nice dram, a good opener for Ardbog Day (can't go too heavy at 11 AM EST when we started-which is 5 PM Islay time). I sort of consider it revealing one of the essential Ardbeg undertones. But in the end it leaves me longing for the industrial adulterants of other expressions.

Food note: It worked pretty well with the grilled watermelon.

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