Scotch Whisky Review #131: Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 Year Batch 1

Distillery: Ardbeg

Region: Islay

Price: Part of a flight, enjoyed in the wonderful company of /u/emosgood

ABV: 46.2%

Cask Type: Blend of Bourbon and Oloroso Sherry Casks

Age: 19 Year

Color: 0.5, Jonquil/Ripe corn.

This is the sixth in my Countdown to Christmas series where I’ll be posting a review a day until Christmas. You can find the entire series here.

Nose: Full of a very sweet, barbecue like smoky peat with a hint of salty sea air and a hint of fruity tang. It’s smells a lot like the pineapple-bacon glazed ham I made for Thanksgiving (at the bottom of this picture)!

Palate: Medium mouth feel. Very warm, it’s like inhaling the smoldering embers after a barbecue. There’s more of those sweet, slightly salty notes and my Thanksgiving ham.

Finish: Medium in length. Smoldering peat and sea air make this up.

Conclusion: I feel like I’ve been on a sweet and salty plus smoky peat kick. I’ve had three drams in the last few weeks that are all fairly similar to each other from a flavor profile in the Bunnahabhain Toiteach a Dhà, the Lagavulin 11 Year Offerman Edition, and this Ardbeg. If the Offerman Lagavulin were a poorly done version of the Toiteach a Dhà, this would be an improved version of it. It’s full of the lovely smokiness you expect from an Ardbeg combined with a real lovely sweetness, slight bit of fruity tang, and a lovely bit of sea air really elevate this to the next level by giving it a bit of complexity. Fantastically done. Would I buy a bottle? If price was not a consideration, I would. However, I have a hard time justifying this at $300 when the Toiteach a Dhà is closer to $70.

Final Score: 86.

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Scotch Whisky review #131, Islay Whiskey Review #15, Whisky Network Review #172

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.