Ardbeg 9yo Single Manzanilla Cask, Distillery Exclusive

Have you ever experienced a whisky worth a million dollars? Well, I kind of have. I arrived at Ardbeg distillery, one of my favorites, to reach my goal of 1000 whisky reviews. I never expected that review No. 998 would be a 9-year-old dram from a cask that would require a check worthy of a villain's dreams in every Austin Powers movie to purchase. This is a 9-year-old single Manzanilla cask, bottled at 60% abv. We were told during the tour that it will be blended with other casks and never bottled as a single cask. On the nose, a delightful Scottish shortbread, biscuits with filling. It smells precisely like salmon, genuinely 'fishy' in a pleasant way. I can only describe it as cotton candy with codfish. Milka caramel chocolate. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE AROMA. After the first taste, it revealed Lindt chocolate. Absolutely amazing stuff. I want to inject this chocolate directly into my veins. On the palate, it's the most bitter and darkest Chocolate imaginable. Crazy good. It starts creamy and oily, then explodes with saltiness. Chocolate madness, with a sonic boom of sulfuric saltiness. Chocolate caramel. The aftertaste is all about smoke and elegant tar, if such things exist. Crazy notes of fresh tennis balls, Nerf toys, foam toys, and rubber. New shoes. Silicium. Overall, this is the most extraordinary Ardbeg I've ever had, and that's a significant claim. Incredibly interesting, sweet, and peaty notes. I try not to be swayed by the cask's price, but this is by far the most expensive whisky I've tasted, or perhaps not, considering a bottle might cost a couple thousand if I calculate it. Setting the price aside, it was wonderful and earned a perfect 100 in my assessment. Cheers!!