Ardbeg Ten was Jim Murray’s World Whisky of the Year in 2008 — the flagship of Islay’s peatiest distillery, bottled at 46% without chill filtration, and the malt that built a cult called the Committee. Ardbeg has distilled on the Kildalton coast since 1815, closed twice, and was rescued by Glenmorangie in 1997 — LVMH owns both now — with Dr. Bill Lumsden directing the whisky; the malt is peated to around 55 ppm, among the heaviest on Islay, but a purifier on the spirit still keeps the spirit clean and citric under the smoke. The Ten is matured mainly in ex-bourbon casks, bottled at 46% without chill filtration or color. The Whiskey Wash, 7 out of 10: vanilla and citrus with coastal sea salt, brine, and oyster shell under prominent peat on the nose; creamy vanilla into lemon-lime, minerality, and tar before surges of the sooty Ardbeg smoke on the palate; and a long finish of bonfire smoke, soot, and salt — a classic Islay dram. Scotch Noob and Whisky Connosr’s hundreds of reviews agree on the lemon-and-smoke signature. Honest note: the peated Scotch everyone should own once — the benchmark for smoky-but-clean, the one bartenders reach for, and the entry to Uigeadail and Corryvreckan. Neat, with a drop of water. Ardbeg, the Ten.
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