Ardbeg 1974-2001 26 Year Old Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask and a Little Nostalgic Story

Undoubtedly accurate specifications and content. Ardbeg ARDBEG 1974-2001 26yo DOUGLAS LAING Old Malt Cask 50% one of 252 bottles The aroma has moist nuances, citrus, vanilla, strong metallic notes, chlorine and disinfectant, creosote, smoke, leaf mold, with a cool and sharp impression. When drinking, it spreads gradually with spice, overripe citrus, dryness, subtle sweetness, a moderate acidity and strong mineral notes with saltiness, smoked seafood, and has an oily yet smoky long finish. [Very Good] This is Ardbeg 1974, aged for 26 years from Douglas Laing's OMC. Ardbeg from the 1970s, especially the earlier part of the decade, is extremely rare. The vintage of 1974 also includes other notable releases like Samaroli or Provencal. This bottle met expectations, strongly reflecting the style of 1970s Ardbeg, with an overall cool and sharp impression. Citrus, metallic notes, chlorine, disinfectant, creosote, and a distinct peatiness are clearly felt in both aroma and flavor. The sweetness is not strong, it's dry with a crisp finish, the mineral and briny notes are intriguing. It doesn't have much thickness but has a long finish despite its crispness, which is a characteristic I think is unique to Ardbeg. Possibly due to the strong presence of distinctive components, even though it has been bottled for about 14 years, its old character is not particularly prominent. By the way, every time I drink OMC Ardbeg, it reminds me of something. This was a long time ago when I wasn't as broad in my malt drinking. At that time, in the old and narrow office of the Scottish whisky research group, one participant brought a 1960s distillation OMC Ardbeg and served it. As it was an unknown drink to me, I expected to be greatly impressed, but I didn't quite get it. When asked for my opinion, I couldn't say I was inexperienced and instead said something like 'it feels a bit dried out and not really my taste.' This still makes me feel embarrassed. It was rude to the person who brought it, and more importantly, I couldn't accept that I was still immature and unable to understand its brilliance. It's embarrassing to think about now. I suspect that if I were to drink it now, I would find many attractive elements in it. Now, having drunk a lot more, I can feel my own immaturity and have grown more greedy for the unknown. That's an interesting thing. #Ardbeg (ARDBEG)