Ardbeg Blasda - something different

Ardbeg Blasda, NAS, 40 %

I attended the Box Whisky Academy in week 19, 2014. During the academy I stayed at Länsmansgården in Ådalen, Sweden. Länsmansgården is an 'Ardbeg Embassy' so I took the opportunity to taste some new Ardbegs. At least they were new to me.

One of them was Ardbeg Blasda. This one is a lightly peated Ardbeg. The malt is peated at 8 ppm as opposed to the standard 24 ppm. This is a no age statement whisky, watered down to 40 ABV.

Blasda is not available at Vinmonopolet (Norway) or Systembolaget (Sweden).

Nose (19/25): Quite thin which is a bit surprising when it comes to Ardbeg. Usually I find Ardbeg very full and a lot of sea water and spices. In this one I could actually smell terpentine...not flattering. And then there were some vanilla and smoke on the nose.

Taste (20/25): A lot of vanilla. Other than that there was not a lot happening, but it was not bad either. To me the taste was like water with sugar - nothing more really. Apart from a bit of smoke that is.

Finish  (20/25): The finish was salty and quite thin. Some alcohol 'bite' here as well. And of course some smoke although very mild.

Balance (19/25): To sum this up, Ardbeg Blasda was a thin and boring whisky dominated by alcohol 'bite' and sugar. Up until this one I have scored every Ardbeg 85 points or higher (96 points is the highest!), so I must say that I was disappointed by Ardbeg Blasda...

Score (78/100)

- Tone