A “Double Barrel” of Ardbeg
October 9th, 2007The 1974 Vintage of Ardbeg is becoming legendary, especially with the Ardbeg “Provenance” 1974 Vintage releases over the past decade. There were also some excellent 1974 Vintage releases from independent bottlers over the past 15 years or so. (I’m still holding on to a couple of them.)
There’s now two new Ardbeg 1974 Vintage releases, but you’re going to have to come up with about $20,000 to buy them. (Relax, that’s only $10,000 per bottle.) That’s because they are being sold together in a double barrel rifle case from James Purdey & Sons. Only 250 are being offered for sale worldwide, with 50 heading to the U.S.
Here’s what my press release has to say about the case and all the goodies inside:
“The case includes two single cask bottles of the rare 1974 vintage of Ardbeg. Each bottle is delicately hand blown, individually numbered and adorned with sterling silver labels. This vintage is one of the rarest of all scotches as there are only two hundred and fifty bottles left in the world. The case itself – finished with two bronze belt buckles – is hand-stitched bridle leather and internally divided with distinctive compartments which, in addition to the two bottles of Ardbeg, also hold eight sterling silver cups that are crafted by Scotland’s top silversmiths, a hand bound leather book to keep your own tasting or shooting notes, and an Omas fountain pen.”
All this stuff is great, but I’ll bet you’re wondering how the whiskies taste. Moet Hennessy, the importer of Ardbeg, is hosting a tasting of the two whiskies later on this afternoon in New York for a select group of writers. Those lucky dogs! And I can’t make it. No worries. I already have a small sample of both, sitting right next to me here as I type this. And I just tasted them. (Yes, I am a very fortunate individual, and I mean that most sincerely.)
Each bottle is from a single cask–one being cask #3524, and the other being #3145. And, according to the hand-written label on the sample bottles, both are bottled at 49.9%. After nosing and tasting both of them, I must say that they’re both pretty damned good. I feared that this many years in oak would have the whiskies tasting a little tired and woody. I was wrong. They still maintain a vibrancy and balance of flavors, along with all that depth and maturity one would expect in an older whisky.
Cask #3145 is the lighter in color, and the sweet notes that balance the smoke and seaweed are not as deeply caramelized as Cask #3542. I’m tasting notes of shortbread and caramel custard, which permeates through the peat smoke, tobacco, toasted nuts, firm spice notes (cinnamon, clove, and mint) and lingering brine.
Cask #3524 is darker, with notes of sticky toffee pudding and chewy caramel that firmly supports the polished leather, cigar box, roasted chestnut, smoked seaweed, tar, dark chocolate and, on the finish, espresso.
I’m not sure if I will review them formally in the Buyer’s Guide of Malt Advocate magazine, because they can’t be purchased individually. However, I can assure you that, if I do, I will score both in the mid 90s.
If you have the money for these two whiskies, buy them, along with all the other cool stuff that goes with it. You will love the whiskies. I was told that they will be available November 1st onward. Too bad, though, that we couldn’t have the opportunity to just buy the bottles individually, without all the goodies, which might have put it into a greater range of affordability. (A bigger bang for our buck, so to speak.)
