Airigh Nam Beist 2006

Airigh Nam Beist 2006

One of my first memories of drinking scotch with my father was drinking the 2006 Airigh Nam Beist release. It was the first peated whiskey I ever tried and I fell in love instantly. The nose alone was unlike any whiskey I’d ever had. At $85 it was the most expensive whiskey we’d ever bought. It took us four years to finish that bottle, just having a little bit every Thanksgiving and Christmas, and when it was gone, we couldn’t find another bottle. So last year, I decided I wanted to buy a bottle for us so we could share it whenever he came by to my place in the city. It has some sentimental value, surely, but even with out it, it sure has to be one of the best Islay whiskies ever bottled.

Bottle Info

Distillery: Ardbeg

Barrel type: n/a

Age: 16

ABV: 46

How this was acquired: auction

Cost: $250

Year purchased: 2016

Tasting Notes

Nose: oily, lemony, peaty, cured meats, salty vanilla, chocolatey shortbread, pound cake

Nose[water]: n/a

Taste: pepper, oily lemon, olive oil, salty, sugar cookie, bitter vanilla, lemon cookies, peaty, nutty

Taste[water]: n/a

Finish: long peat, lemon, short bread, light peppery peat, so damned good, balanced, umami

Finish[water]: n/a

Binary Score: 1

Value Notes

Would I buy this (or if already bought, would you buy this again): Yes

Would I order this in a bar: Yes

Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Yes

Value For Money: 5/5

My Scoring System

0 | I didn’t like it | It doesn’t mean you won’t

1 | I liked it | It doesn’t mean you will