Ardbeg 19-Year Traigh Bhan Batch 4
46.2% ABV - Islay, Scotland
Nose: Damp, heavily charred wood, cooking oil, ash, and sandalwood. Warm fruits and spices.
Taste: Moderate peat smoke, old wood, and fruit chocolate. Light citrus and other fruits wafting around.
Finish: Heavy ash raining down, petrichor, citrus, liquorice, and spices.
I tasted three Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19-Year batches side-by-side. Batch 3, 4, and 5. I had purchased Batch 5 recently and Batch 3 is the heel from a good friend, that I also obtained recently. I’ve had Batch 4 the longest—so I "know it" the best. I am going to be as impartial as I need to be to judge each whisky against my own tastebuds! What a Happy Whisky Wednesday it was when I wrote these notes.
After the nose, I feel like Batch 5 has a lead on the scoreboard but Batch 3 and 4 are close behind and in stiff competition between each other.
Tasting in release order, the Traigh Bhan Batch 4 seems to have greater complexity than Batch 3. Then there is Batch 5… which completely surprised me. It is almost as if I tasted not just three separate batches, but three separate distilleries. Traigh Bhan Batch 3 tastes like Ardbeg, Batch 4 could fool me it’s Ardbeg, and Batch 5 a funky Bowmore. Really cool to experience the batch variation in a product that is otherwise meant to be fairly similar, in terms of how it’s put together with different barrels.
Overall, wow. I think this is going to motivate me to buy (and open!) more batches to experience the vertical. In fact, I have two Laphroaig 10-Year Cask Strength batches open, Batch 13 and 15, but I am yet to open Batch 14—that’ll happen a lot sooner now!
Details: Traigh Bhan always has an interesting phrase on the label—this one says "Bottled: Under a full moon". Batch No. TB/04-07.03.2003/22.CG
Tasting Notes (Official): "Rich Wood Smoke. Menthol. Aniseed." Exceptionally rare, this small batch 19 Year Old Ardbeg displays notes of herbal pine, bracing mint chocolate and citrusy lemon on the nose. A rich smokiness gives way to peanut brittle and smoked currants, with waves of aniseed, hazelnut, and pepper. A satisfyingly long finish brings with it notes of vanilla fudge and clove.
Tasted 13 March 2024. (Posted 15 April 2024.)
