The Ardbeg Lord of the Isles is a 25-year-old whisky from the iconic Islay distillery, founded in 1815 by John MacDougall. This rare malt whisky is a supreme expression of Ardbeg, slowly matured in oak barrels for 25 years and non-chill-filtered to retain maximum flavor. Known for its outstandingly smoky drams, Ardbeg has a rich history, including being mothballed for most of the 1980s and changing ownership multiple times before being bought by Glenmorangie plc in 1997, which turned around its fortunes.
The Lord of the Isles whisky embodies the richness, depth, and sweetness of all Ardbegs, with a light gold color and powerful character. It is a phenomenal, much-sought-after bottling of a truly outstanding malt. The nose is very smoky but not especially peaty, with ripe apple, heavy peat, and grassy, farmy notes emerging after a while. The taste is bold and rich, with tropical fruit, a load of peat and smoke, and a nice balance. This is pure Ardbeg, with a very long finish that is saltier and more lemony.
The packaging and bottle are in good condition, with only a scratch on the back of the packaging. This whisky was bottled between 2001 and 2007 and comes in a presentation box with a scroll. Overall, it exemplifies a refined, high-quality Ardbeg that would be even more stunning at cask strength.
On the nose, it starts with softly lingering smoke from a dying fire, slightly burnt lemon custard pie, butterscotch, and smoke-dried apple slices. Smoked dried fruits with a drizzle of smoked honey, a touch of wood smoke diffused in briny sea air and oyster shells, worn leather-bound recently polished wooden furniture, with a fading mild alcohol-burn tinged scent of baking spices, earth/dunnage warehouse, and oak. The palate reveals wood smoke and tar, smoked osmanthus with a touch of smoked honey, smoked malt, smoked slightly burnt dried fruits (prunes, papaya, apples, currants, cranberries) with a bit of smoked cured meats and hard cheeses, smoked lemon curd on slightly burnt dark multigrain toast, smoked butterscotch with a touch of scorched vanilla. The finish is long, showcasing smoked dark chocolate espresso beans, smoked walnut mixed with smoked salty candied orange peel, a touch of licorice and marshmallow root, and a long slow fade of gently dying woodfire smoke and woodspice.
As an island king without a kingdom, this whisky is exquisite and delicate, rich in layers, elegant and soft. The nose brings sweet cream, milk soap, chamomile, breath of the sea, fresh, elegant, cool and smoky, with smoked salmon and pomegranate juice. The taste is light smoke, sea salt, fish oil, orange juice, plump, sweet, vanilla sugar, and light cream. The finish extends with long notes of orange juice, sea salt, and disinfected water.
Among notable Ardbeg releases, this one stands out for its wonderful balance and high reputation. Its nose is a beautiful mix of toffee, beeswax, clotted cream, stollen, old furniture, bung cloth, olive oil, and smoked haddock, hinting at fantastic old-school sherry casks and a great blending job. The palate is lovely with stewed fruits, mahogany, bright, oily, citrus oils, seashells, oysters, and a long texture. The finish is very lengthy with salty, maritime, peach and lemon, fine smoke, and peat, making it a harmonious experience.
The ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of Ardbeg Lord of the Isles 25yo is 46%.
The bottle size is 700 ml.
It was aged for 25 years.
It comes in a presentation box with a scroll.
Softly lingering smoke, burnt lemon custard pie, butterscotch, smoke-dried apple slices, smoked dried fruits, smoked honey, wood smoke, briny sea air, oyster shells, worn leather, baking spices, earth/dunnage warehouse, oak.
Wood smoke, tar, smoked osmanthus, smoked honey, smoked malt, burnt dried fruits (prunes, papaya, apples, currants, cranberries), smoked cured meats, hard cheeses, smoked lemon curd, burnt multigrain toast, smoked butterscotch, scorched vanilla.
Smoked dark chocolate espresso beans, smoked walnut, salty candied orange peel, licorice, marshmallow root, woodfire smoke, woodspice, salty maritime, peach, lemon, peat.
This Ardbeg Lord of the Isles 25yo is a remarkable whisky, boasting an exquisite balance of smoky, fruity, and maritime notes. Its complexity is accented by layers of smoked elements, rich tropical fruits, and a long-lasting, harmonious finish. It's a refined, high-quality expression that captures the essence of Ardbeg's craftsmanship.
The Ardbeg Lord of the Isles 25yo is an exceptional whisky that truly lives up to its legendary status. From the initial smoky and fruity aromas to the bold, rich palate and extended finish, every sip is a journey into the depths of Islay's finest malt. Its balance and complexity make it a standout amongst Ardbeg's releases, earning its place as a much-sought-after collector's item. A must-try for any whisky enthusiast.
Spirit Radar is my daily tool that become crucial for my busines. As an independent bottler I follow my bottles (The Colours of Rum) on various e-commerce sites. On the other hand, a spirits' collector I use Spirit Radar to chase bottles I want to buy or sell. I also use "my collection" tool to value my own bottles. Spirit Radar become really useful and I can see the team works systematically to improve the app. I will surely remain loyal user.
CEO Wealth Solutions SA
We have used Spirit Radar since the very beginning. Both in our business and for private use. It is a fantastic tool to keep you updated in the market. It can be very time consuming to find an exact bottle somewhere in the world, but with Spirit Radar, you can get that information within seconds. We have also used it when we need to keep track of our bottles and see what our customers wants. Besides that, its an interesting platform, when you want to explore the rum world, or search for bottles that could be really hard to find in the normal stores. It is very easy and intuitive to use.
Mastertaster at Romdeluxe
Ardbeg Traigh Bhan Batch No.1 Small Batch Release 19yo 46.2% 700ml
Macallan Edition No.1 Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 48% 750ml
LM&V 2019 Hampden Great House 59% 700ml
Velier Caroni 1998 Dennis X Gopaul Employees 1st Release 20yo 69.5% 700mlSpirit Radar gathers as much information and data as possible about each bottle. We have collected historical offers and auctions for each bottle, sometimes dating back to 2012.
We constantly check every site for new and updated offers. When a bottle becomes in stock, we know it within minutes.
We use all this data to compute the market value of each bottle. As a result, you can see the price trend of each bottle and find the best place to buy it.
In addition, we constantly expand our database: we add new bottles, online stores, and auction portals. Find new releases and rare bottles for the best prices.
Spirit Radar allows you to add bottles to your watch list. When we find a bottle from your watch list in stock, we will send you a notification. You can also set a maximum price you are willing to pay, and we will ignore all more expensive offers.
We check every site multiple times a day, the hottest bottles even every few minutes. You will be one of the first to know when a bottle becomes available to buy.
When we find an auction of a bottle you watch, we will notify you before it ends. You can disable all auction-related notifications or disable them for individual bottles.
Do you know the current value of your collection? And how has it grown during the last 30 days? Spirit Radar makes it simple. Just add bottles to your collection and enter purchase prices.
Every day, you'll get an updated value of your collection and how much you gained since you purchased the bottles. These statistics are provided for your entire collection, as well as for individual bottles.
Security is our top priority. Only you can see your collection and statistics.
