Ardbeg 1965 (Cadenhead’s Authentic)

Another Ardbeg 1965 bottled by Cadenhead in their Authentic Collection, but as it turns out, totally different from the Ardbeg 24 Years for Sestante.

Ardbeg 28 yo 1965 (54,4%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection 1993)

Nose: impressive complexity, it keeps changing in the glass. In no particular order: dry smoke, worn leather (a lot), thick honey, herbal liqueur, dark cocoa, tangerines (nice, but they fade quickly), wet cellar walls, sappy oak, menthol and eucalyptus, hay, pepper, dried figs. Deeply peaty but with a nice blanket of sweet sherry notes. Not the most Ardbeggian nose, but I don’t mind.

Mouth: very powerful. Lots of herbal notes (cough syrup), heavy liquorice and mineral touches. Camphor and charred oak. Peppermint. Dark tea. Interestingly it’s also quite syrupy, so you really get this idea of cough medicine. Just a hint of banana and peach. Back to salty liquorice, dark cocoa, plenty of grassy notes and hints of peppercorns.

Finish: very long, dry, salty and grassy, with peppered chocolate and smoke.

It’s interesting that this Ardbeg is almost entirely on herbal, mineral, grassy notes, with very little peat as such. It’s quite woody, not very typical, but still I think it’s bold and impressive.

Score: 91/100