Ardbeg 12 year 2005 (North Star Spirits)

Tasting event from a spirits bottler, Sydney, July 18, 2019. Whisky #6 Nose Unmixed: Smoked fruit (pineapple and grapefruit) and a whisper of vanilla. Intense peat-smoke and woodsmoke combined with a strong sea air character of seaweed and shells (iodine and briny sand). Espresso and burnt match scents. Nose Mixed with Water: The peat smoke intensifies significantly, emphasizing the phenolic qualities. A plastic/rubber note emerges, but it's not bothersome. Palate Unmixed: The initial taste is smoky and ashy with clouds of peat smoke. It possesses a dry yet rounded character that is almost, but not quite, sweet – reminiscent of amontillado. It's savory and phenolic, like barbecued pork at a beach bonfire, but not fiery spicy at all. The alcohol strength is only perceptible as a drying sensation, and the entire palate is curiously invigorating. Palate Mixed with Water: Dilution introduces considerable sweetness and brings out mustard-seed spice, more sea air notes, and a slight oiliness. Finish: Lengthy. Ashen smoke with a drying salt-iodine sensation. Adding water sweetens the finish and gives the aftertaste a warming effect. The previous tastings of the evening were all from a specific bottler's series 007, however this was a special appearance from series 004. Experienced as the first dram of the day, I imagine this would be quite potent and demanding, however with the palate prepared, I found it to be an easily accessible and very gratifying dram. Unusually for this distillery, there is little salt or lemon in the aroma or on the palate. It is very driven by the distillate and comes across as an revealing expression. The cask used was good but must have been a refill since there is little wood influence, but what is discernible is very fine. Independent bottlings from this distillery are not uncommon, but the distillery must charge a formidable price for their casks and to permit their name on the label, as this is very costly for a 12-year-old cask strength. I enjoyed tasting this whisky, but the obvious comparison is the consistently excellent official bottling from this distillery, which at less than 20% of the price offers a dram that is nearly as good. This is truly only for the devoted collectors of this distillery. "Excellent": 88/100 (4.5 stars)

This was another outstanding pour from the tasting session. It was among my top picks of the day

Nicely smoky!