Ardbeg 12 yo 80 proof, white label bottled for the French Market in 1966 vs Ardbeg 18 yo 1975 / 1993 Signatory #2461-2463 43%
Ardbeg 12 yo 80 proof, white label bottled for the French Market in 1966
Tarry and phenolic in a primordially pure and achingly beautiful way, streaked with jagged salinity and cold loss. I need not elaborate, just know this profile is a treasure now gone. Otherwise find also the call of the sea with salt encrusted lines, dried lemons, cold ash, menthol rubs under heavy wool sweaters, and sea washed rubber boots from which the mud never really came off. I cannot think of a profile more evocative of a lonely maritime sojourn at the mercy of elemental seas. 92 pts. Also great bottle condition – absolutely no glass.
Ardbeg 18 yo 1975 / 1993 Signatory #2461-2463 43%
This one is somewhat closer to home, with workshop notes, machine oils and soot. While it is rather subdued, being neither particularly phenolic nor coastal, it does have a unique salty-green cast to it in the form of dried grass, wintergreen, juniper, and herbs like savoury sage and stripped thyme. Some muddy limestone, white smoke, sooty smears and extinguished candles, but I can’t get away from the keen edge of that green bite at the finish. 86 pts.
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