Ardbeg 25-year-old

Very good Ardbeg but overpriced. Earthy peat very well integrated. Lemon zest. Good influence of malted barled. Hint of wood.

Very gentle peat, sweet and balanced nose. On the taste is sweet, hey and watery. Finish is long sweet but oak dominant. Overall not worth the price.

Epic old style Ardbeg reminiscent of the soft sublime Ardbegs of old. So many haters out there. Fine! More for me :-)

Tasting: November 2021

I set this bar a bit too high in my mind, the peat is much more vibrant than I expected, it is very much a ashy bbq type of dram, but I was wanting a tame more refined version that I heard were things of the 70’s. Don’t get me wrong it is delicious, but not like some other 25yr old peated ones.

Part of the Warehouse 3 tasting at Ardbeg Distillery. Fantastic dram but to be honest I had too many drams earlier yesterday. Still, I remember the linger and soft profile.

Very round and balanced, good mouthfeel, very drinkable - very good!

Pure, heavy and ripe.

Rated on a single dram. It's a good whisky, but I would never dish out €1000+ for a full bottle.

Nose: Burned , bonfire, cream Taste: Drupe, peat Finish: Peat, bonfire (Release not sure)

The aroma is rather closed, dense, sweet with citrus sourness. Lots of citrus, lemon, lime, light haze, caramel (not candy), vanilla, sweet popcorn, creamy shades, noble tobacco. The taste is rich, dense, enveloping, sweet. Citrus, vanilla, peat, phantom smoked meats, creamy notes, tropical fruits, spices. The finish is long. Peat, spices, some vanilla and citrus fruits. Conclusion: Time has changed the brutal and energetic Ardbeg alcohols, they have become more comfortable, delicate, refined. I would drink and drink it, but the price kills on the spot. Generally abstracting from the price, the whisky is worthy. ⚡89⚡ PS Perhaps, if it was a tasting outside the club, and at home in an armchair by the fireplace, then the assessment could be different, but for now, as it is.

Blenders Glass. Except for the price - a great malt! Well balanced, there are no questions to the body, even 46%, but I can't call it outstanding. Balance 23 Total 90

I have really wanted to try this whisky for several years. The price tag of the bottle is very high, but it cannot be overlooked. It's a wonderful parody, a sulphurous, herbal shot. Tones of malt, green tea, orchard fruits, meadow flowers. Beautiful shot. It has a bit of bitterness in the reverberation, but it is not a minus. The freshness of menthol also appears. Beautiful whisky. Overall, it is very ashy to carbonaceous.

Islay Single Malt 25 to ex-bourbon casks 46% gold 15k colour Complex and well-rounded. I compared it to the Ardbeg TEN. The smoke is not so rough, more rounded and complex. Citric, pine and eucalyptus notes are very strong here.

Scent: Smoky cream, wood, some lemon leaves, campfire saltpeter, candle, and creamy notes run throughout. After waking up slightly, the aroma of cheese is very strong. Taste: Creamy, mineral, and buttery salty notes are quite pronounced, while the peaty notes are very gentle and blend well with the body of the beer. Aftertaste: Creamy cheese, followed by a woody bitterness with a hint of mint, cool. However, the bitterness is a bit strong; it would be better if it were a little weaker. How do those who bought it for over 10,000 RMB feel now that it cost 4,500 RMB?

It has a relatively oily viscosity and its bouquet is of medium intensity. I have aromas of dry peat smoke, marine notes, citrus and vanilla. Relatively complex. A good balance between sweetness and dryness in terms of taste. The alcohol is well integrated and has a heavy body.

Nose: It smells of apple from a distance, but you can't discover the fruity aroma if you get closer. Under the lighter lemon and evaporated milk, high-purity dark chocolate, soot, and ink are straight and pale. Palate: The sweetness is outstanding, but it is still difficult to conceal the bitterness brought by heavy peat. The flavor of the privately owned licorice and meringue in the previous paragraph is quickly covered by tobacco, soot, pulp, charred Milanese sausage, strong pepper, and bitterness. Lack of over-flavor in the mid-range. Five years ago, the same style of bourbon barrel 21 years bottling Twenty One has a triangular balance of creamy protein snacks, lemon curd and premium soot. This wine is covered by a strong toilet paper flavor. Finish: Long and very weak. Licorice, bitter tea, pepper and smoky flavors. Body: Lightweight wine body, better fusion processing, the wine tends to be clean and tidy, and does not have a prominent alcohol feel. 23>21>>>>>>>22>25

Tasted at whisky show 2021, zesty, sweet peat, very enjoyable

8.5/10/8.5

with water: I would do without it, at 46% it is almost a little too low Conclusion: Really great stuff, long-matured Ardbegs are often a dream, especially the nose offers beautiful complex notes, and the peat is no longer the only determining characteristic, the fruit components in particular are a lot of fun here. The alcohol content is not optimally chosen here, I would have allowed it 2-3% more. So he lacks a little strength with 46%. What can I say about the PLV? It's too expensive, but the packaging is really cool. For the money I'd rather shoot a G&M 1974 Ardbeg at an auction

So... Ardbeg 25. I am almost famos for my ardbeg hatred and my whisky groups slowly mocked me for not having a foundation to hate ardbeg any more (I have some history and gifted an Ardbeg 17 to a good friend as a revenge for gifting me something special). As we could score one bottle for the initial sale point we shared samples and I bought 2cl of this 25y thing. Nose: yep, that is neat. You can smell some kind of "richness". Its age, the Ardbeg style of peat... the burnt pineapple. Mouth: Oh, neat, Ardbeg 10 Finish: Oh neat, the Ardbeg 10 finish. I used way more curse words in our whisky group to describe my emotions. So everything aside: why does it still score a 84? The nose is very noble and I was really "shocked" after the first sniff (because it was amazing!) Spend as much time nosing this thing as you can. So, Ardbeg 10, solid 8/10 for me... scale to 100 and add something because of the amazing nose -> 84 for me. I feared I have to reavaluate everything I know about the Ardbeg of the recent 3-5 years. Bottle design and feel is really something for the collector... it states "hey, I was expensive". And - damn - it was. In this price range are so many bottles ( even secondary market prices compared to the initial 750 ) that this suffers in every way possible against those bottles..

Nose: intense despite the age, smoke not too acrid, almost sweet mixed with an aroma of incense, green citrus and a hint of sweeter fruit in the background. Palate: WOW!!!! It is the whisky with the clearest note of pine resin. there is peat, present but not overwhelming, lime incense and pine resin, then come sweeter notes of yellow fruit. it is a succession of aromas that play chase each other without any dominating the other. an iridescent whisky. Long finish with an unlit fireplace and balsamic aromas. really good

There are some parallels in taste to the 21-year-old. The Quarter Century has more exquisite fruit, more developed smoke influences and more to offer at the end. At the price, however, I can understand why it is still easily available two years later. For the full review go here: https://halbendrinks.de/2022/09/18/evolution-of-ardbeg/

The aroma of fermented cheese, dense and soft peats and smokes, overall complex and delicate but not clear notes, high drinkability, organic solvents, the more airing the stronger the peat

(Disclaimer: The price didn't matter for my rating.) Tasted this with the 21yo (2016), 23yo (2017) and 22yo (2018) head to head and had a lot of fun. Final score: 23yo 91P 21yo 88P 25yo 88P 22yo 86P It is very drinkable, if you like the modern Ardbegstyle like I do. But it offers little complexity, it tastes more like a designed blend, without any highlights. If you expect something outstanding or consider its price (750€ in germany, at least at first...), this has the potential to be your disappointment of the year.

Nose: rather boring. Yes, the typical Ardbeg smoke is still relatively dominant at the age of 25. Clearly a bit medicinal and also typical Ardbeg fruit notes, but very subtle. The citrus notes are still the clearest. Taste: Of course, the peat comes into its own here too, but otherwise other flavors tend to remain in the background. A slight sweetness, neat spice and a little oak. But very poor for 25 years. Unfortunately also a subtle bitterness Finish: The finish is much weaker and boring. Smoke and bitterness linger over ... Conclusion: Compared to the 19 year old Traigh Bhan, especially the 2nd batch there, the 25 series is really far behind. We don't want to talk about the PLV here.

For once, an Ardbeg special bottling finally convinced me again for a long time. It is sweet, very sweet, graceful, fine, light golden and finely balanced. It is almost like being a bear licking warm liquid honey. It is not noticeably smoky. Anyone who is a pure color drinker and likes extremely strong notes will not be happy here. However, if you love a very fine summer barbecue concert in the honey bear forest, you will definitely be happy here. This whisky is so perfect that it doesn't need to be diluted. It's nice that Ardbeg is also able to play such fine and balanced tones on the taste board.

I had a sample of this whisky from the still. Unfortunately he didn't convince me. Of course it's a good whisky, but at this price? Not at all. Every Traigh Bhan is better. At a fraction of the price. Very mild and very balanced. No more rough edges, but unfortunately also rather flat in the taste profile. There are no special features that really blow you away and I definitely expect that at this price. All in all, I might have to give this whisky one or two points more in terms of taste, but in the PLV you have to say that this whisky simply doesn't make any sense to me. There are so many better whiskys for less money...

It smells slightly fermented and sour, interesting but a little weird. It's delicious, but the price will scare me out. Quite beautiful package gift box.

An excellent whisky! No question the price is high, it now costs 1,150 pounds in the shop on Islay. But really very balanced with a delicate and aged smoky note and still a nice fruity taste of ripe citrus and a slight hint of vanilla.

Grain forward, simple, funkier than the 21

Very mineral on the nose, unusual for an Ardbeg. The Ardbeg DNA is clearly recognizable, though. Sweet roasted pineapple. On the nose, however, it doesn't seem as old as it is. Unfortunately, there's also a distinct alcohol note. A hint of cream cheese. The palate features an interesting violet note. Minerality is present. The roasted sweet pineapple is also present. Unfortunately, it feels like a refill from the barrel. Very little complexity. The finish is fruity sweetness that blends well with a tart note, like a roasted, very overripe pineapple lying in a full ashtray.

A fruity aroma, with distinct waxy notes, but also smoked fish, smoked pulpwood, tart cranberries, wild blueberries, and strawberries. A sweet-tart palate – raspberries, wild strawberries, minerality, light peat, green tea, and wakame. A long, rich finish, blueberries, but also ginger, cloves, cardamom, and a tartness – tea, hibiscus, and perhaps saffron? A very complex whisky.

It resembles Laphroaig 25, but Ardbeg 25 is sweeter, less medicinal and less fruity (as it contains bourbon barrels only). It offers similar quality as Laphroaig 25 (2017); however its price tag is significantly higher. Great and rare whisky indeed with imposing package, but not as outstanding as its price would suggest.

fruit and vegetable smoky release that we are waiting for for a long time.

Tasted together with my favorite (OB) Ardbeg, the Dark Cove. How is the new high-end Ardbeg doing next to it? Quite equivalent on the nose, but then surprises with a certain soapy one-sidedness (washing powder) in the mouth and a lack of presence in the finish. Not a bad malt, I liked it, but the price tag is crazy. This Mslt would not be worth more than 120-150 € to me. Then rather a Dark Cove or Ardbog from the secondary market.

Aroma: Campfire smoke, citrus fruits, lemon peel, orange, orchard fruits, green apples and pears, mineral notes Taste: A smoky-citrusy explosion, with pronounced lemon peel, zesty orange, green apples and pears, minerality, campfire smoke, a spicy finish that fades beautifully, smoky and citrus-driven Overall Impression: The very definition of Ardbeg, a fruit and citrus bouquet wrapped in controlled smokiness, a full and beautifully balanced whisky, with a price that is undeniably too high yet not enough to overshadow the fact that this is a high-quality whisky

bone dry

A quarter of a century spent in captivity pacified Ardbeg's violent nature. When he was released, he became docile, neat, secretive. Now, his main baggage is citrus fruits, ice cream, caramel, vanilla pie. Over the years, tobacco notes have appeared in it, lacquered wood, smoked meats have become less and less. And only near, perhaps even inside it, the phantom smoke of past events was preserved.

Pretty nice on lemons, soft peat and a subtle sweetness. Very nice balanced and drinkable but way too extensive!

Tried this as a sample generously given by a friend. How far this 25 year old Ardbeg spirit has fallen when compared to any bottling of the equally aged Lord of the Isles. The Lord of the Isles is certainly not a hugely complex whisky, but it's still more complex than this new 25. This new expression is a little bit sweeter than the modern core range, and the smoke is a bit tamer, but that's all the difference. 87 points is generous, and that is without taking the price into account. If price were to be factored in, I doubt this would deserve more than 70-75 points. Shame on you Ardbeg and LVMH for even considering the act of stepping foot into Edrington-territory prices, let alone actually doing it. We're still in January and this could already be a strong contender for the most disappointing whisky released this year. To be clear, this is not a bad whisky at all, but at the current price it is impossible to recommend this over the 10 or the Corryvreckan (even the Uigeadail, hot mess that it is now, would be better). Or if you're in the mood for this style of 25 year old but done even better and cheaper, get a Laphroaig 25.

Given the chance to try one sip of this elusive malt... and i mean one sip only. I was able to take my time on the nose, less so on the palate and finish. Take that in mind. Active ex-bourbon (some first fill?) influence, the balance is struck right, as expected for a malt of this calibre. I personally didn’t pick up lots of tropical fruity notes in the foreground, but they’re definitely there. To me, it was mostly oils and waxy ointments.