astraltraveller

After the cult following that Ardbeg Very Young collected it appears that enthusiasts of Ardbeg are keen to sample a 'work in progress'. So now its spirited sibling, 'Still young' is ready to take its first peated steps to maturity. Released just over one year on from Very Young it is wonderfully robust, still peaty and gristy but ageing well. A final limited release, 'Almost There' to be bottled in 2007, will complete the family and show the development of the vintage 1998 spirit as it journeys towards becoming a fully fledged ten year old in 2006.

Tasting Notes : Pungent aromas of heathery wood smoke, peat and coal tar soap are softened by top notes of pear drops, fig rolls, peaches and sea air. On the palate it is powerful and smoky, yet silky and smooth as the peat oils and flavours of chewy treacle toffees coat the mouth.

Producer : Ardbeg

Method of Production : As with the Very Young bottling, this expression is a vatting of heavily peated spirit from 'normal' barrels (i.e. ex-Bourbon barrels; with the untouched ones destined to become the 'house' ten year old) from the 1998 vintage. This however, was bottled in 2006 at cask strength without chill filtering or the addition of caramel; thus making it an eight year old.