The final special release in the trio leading to Ardbeg 10YO.
Tasting notes by Dave Broom
Nose
Smoky with seaweed and burned wood. Slightly vegetal/eucalypt with a hint of firelighter.
Palate
Immediate hit of smoke, cubeb berries but then a silky sweet mid-palate with touches of citrus. Then the smoke returns.
Finish
Salty and a little lean.
Comment
This is seamless stuff and despite the smokiness is unshowy. Only 9 Years Old? Great things are on their way.
-- Source: Whisky magazine, Issue 64, http://www.whiskymag.com/whisky/brand/ardbeg/whisky3847.html
The final member of the family, this ripening Ardbeg, distilled in 1998 and first bottled in 2004, is now released, ready to make its way in the world as we follow the peaty path to Ardbeg 10 Years Old. After the Committee welcomed Very Young with open arms in 2004, Still Young joined its brother in 2006. Bottled in 2007, Almost There is the third and final limited release with an intriguing nose of peat bogs, pine cones and birch tar, interlaced with the sweetness of fudge and caramel toffees and just a tang of salt.
-- Ardbeg website, November 2008.