Ardbeg 26, Edition 5, Hunter Laing The Kinship, 208/209, 49.7% abv.

The Kinship series was started and selected by Jim McEwan to celebrate the construction of Hunter Laing's Ardnahoe distillery. Ardnahoe was a big thing because it was another "new" distillery on Islay with a popular cast of characters. The first releases included Ardbeg 26, Bowmore 25, Bunnahabhain 28, Caol Ila 33, Laphroaig 30, and Port Ellen 34 in 2017.

Nose: light fruit desert pastry, almost no aromas. But when I swirled it a good bit, I sensed hints of pecan, aroma oils. With some time, there is light wood, a light amount of vanilla, some slight coconut. Base seems to be like cactus.

Palate: initially plain, peat smoke on the mid and back palate, becomes more sour vanilla-ish with time. Simple stuff. Seems like a diluted Ardbeg.

Finish: medium to long, peaty, slight wood. Standard stuff.

It's a little strange, with a base similar to vanilla cactus. I felt like it had a subdued entry level Islay (i.e. Ardbeg, Laphroaig type) flavor profile where the flavors aren't intense, but the basic elements are there, although again in minor amounts. Not sure if its because it's a new bottle or something else. I've noticed I tend to not be a fan of older Ardbeg though.

Grade: B

Whiskyfun.com, Serge Valentin, sgp:656, 91 points
Scotchwhisky, Dave Broom, 83

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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