Ardbeg Oogling Committee Reserve

Colour: pale gold.

Nose: Smoky, sweet some tobacco and a bit of tar and rubber come in at 2nd whiff. really smoky stuff, i can think of smoked fish and Ham which you buy at delicatessen shops. fresh off the smoker, with sweet burnt sugar hovering above. lovely stuff. maybe a wee fisherman's village. Sherry influence is evident in spite of the 1-3 ration of bourbon. just the right amount as not to make it too sweet. sweet peat. wow.

Palate: Oily,. sweet notes at first then peaty, salty and briny. Leather, smoked fish again, some tar. It's like licking the inside of a fishing boat! quite fresh and tingly on the tongue afterwards. palate is not as sweet as the nose. Quite a big shovelful of peat. every taste bud is singing hallelujah.

finish : Finishing on espresso,peat, ashtray ashes, some winey notes reside on the palate. and an awful lot of smoke just 'hangs in there' for looooooong time. amazing long finish on this one. just when you think smoke is gone, it's not. it stays there, and refuses to go.

Bottom line: Very very good stuff. I loved it. (i know Serge from WhiskyFun, didn't much care for it, but hey, we’ve got separate noses. that’s what’s fun about tasting notes, isn’t it?). Too bad prices are so high and inventory is so low. I guess if was to be released this year, it would have cost more and be sold in a few hours… Ardbeg.