Taster

Nose: Soft. Light sherry. It's like a box of spent matches next to a slumbering peat fire.

Palate: Sweet, almost oily, start then comes a lovely interplay between pulpy fruit and dry sooty smoke.

Finish: Very long. Smoky chimney.

Comment: Slightly sweeter than the 1977 but equally good. The sulphury note lets it down.

Score: 8.8

Taster

Nose: Seaweed. Tar. Peat.

Palate: Starts assertively dry, but quickly reveals a soft centre. Tar-like. Sweetish. Oily. Lemon.

Finish: Dry, Drying, Sandy, Warming, Long. Notably big finish.

Comment: Full of flavour and complexity, but less challenging than some Ardbegs. More peaty than the bottling reviewed among new releases. Some woodiness.

Score: 9