Ardbeg 1976

Name: Ardbeg 1976
Brand: Ardbeg
SKU: 1290
Rating: 94.16 (85 reviews)

Overall rating: 94.16/100
votes: 85

Whiskybase ID: WB1290
Category: Single Malt
Distillery: Ardbeg
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Vintage: 24.11.1976
Bottled: 26.03.2002
Calculated age: 25 years old
Casktype: Sherry Butt
Casknumber: 2396
Number of bottles: 492
Strength: 53.5 % Vol.
Size: 700 ml
Bottled for: Velier
Market: Italy
Added on: 13 jan 2008 2:48 pm

Average value

€ 8448.29

Found 2 online shops. Lowest price:

CHF 7900.00

	The Whisky Exchange	£ 8000.00

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Whisky reviews for Ardbeg 1976

8 users have left 9 reviews for this whisky. Average rating is 94.16 points.

alectron scored this whisky 91 points
06 oct 2011 12:21 am
Dissapointingly for me, the last thing standing is the alcohol. Might be this would have benefitted from having it with other whiskies or giving it a LOT more time. On it's own, it's less remarkable than I thought it would be and my sample was too small & gone too early to try out more.

Thanks to the lady at Ardbeg whom I owe the sample to.

Nose

Earthy dried peat, black leather, fresh cigar tobacco, eucalyptus, (warm) lemon (zest), fresh plums, tar, pencil shavings, hay. (92)

Later (+20 mins): most of the above is still there, but somewhat in the background, now heather & chocolate come into play as well & even dominate after a bit. more brown than black leather now. A bit less interesting, but much more enjoyable for me now (94)

w water. Funny. Brings out more of the earthy & farmy notes. Cow dung, wet fur & leather, ammonia, also some more lemon & cinnamon, some musty-ness. (88)

Taste

earthy & peaty notes dominate but next to it are dark chocolate, licorice, plums, tar, (93)

Later (+20 mins): not the deveopment towards sweetness I have hoped for. I suspect this might need a lot of time...

w water: still strong on earth & peat, less so on the sweeter flavours, which now seem to be rather vanilla-y & spicy. Also quite a bit of cold ash, charred wood, chalk. (89)

Finish

more peat, then quite an alcoholic finish with a surprising cooling sensation, medicinal feel, (89)

Later (+20 mins): still very alcoholic feel. Would need to experiment with lots more time & breathing, but now my sample is gone.

w water: still medicinal feel & also some bitter notes appear (86)
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Lemserig scored this whisky 97 points
26 oct 2022 7:25 am

Aroma: Fallen leaves, then algae with marine notes. Further eucalyptus, flower honey, lemon, salty sea breeze, flowering heather, spices, vanilla, ginger and cardamom.
Taste: Salty with pepper, iodine and peat. Organics, spices, sea salt. Further plums, lemon with honey, vanilla, iodine and oak. Mineral oil, peat and pepper bitterness.
Finish: Long, sweet-tart-mineral with pepper at the beginning and a mass of zest towards the end. On the exhale, iodine, sea salt, peat, algae, organics, a little medicine, pepper oak. Then more astringency, peatiness and minerality. Fabulous whisky! The finish is phenomenal!
pere scored this whisky 95 points
01 dec 2020 6:55 pm
Intense sherry sweetness and strong, but rather clean smoke.

In comparison 2390 is a bit smokier and drier, 2392 has dirtier and softer smoke and has maybe even more intense sherry, 2394 is not as strongly sherried nor as smoky.

Nose

Sweet sherry spices, smoke, a hint of tar liquorice.

Taste

Intense sweet smoke, spicy, smooth.

Finish

Sweet spices, smoke, a bit fruity, dryish smoke.
SFWC scored this whisky 94 points
05 mar 2018 6:39 am
Tasted at Dornoch Castle Whisky bar. February 2018.

This one is much more sour than cask #2397. Still a phenomenal Ardbeg its much more fishy, oyster like and salty. Cooked red fruits are in there but I prefer #2397's superior balance.
- Nose
  
  94 94
- Taste
  
  95 95
- Finish
  
  94 94
hs305 scored this whisky 96 points
29 apr 2017 7:27 pm

[February, 2004] I had another dram during the 5th Anniversary Tasting of MaRa at Limburg.

In my old rating system (ten scales that translate into WB points: 50 - 66 - 75 - 80 - 82,5 - 85 - 87,5 - 90 - 92,5 - 95) I scored it 95+. My notes state an extreme peaty profile with smoky, fruity, sweet and salty aromas. The mouthfeel is bold and coating. The finish is long and adds grilled bacon to the mix. I noted its taste is comparable to the legendary Kingsbury Ardbeg 1974 (WB id 1526) with additional heavy sherry flavours. I wrote the word "perfect!".

The line-up of this tasting was absolutely stunning:

- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/20560/bowmore-25-year-old
- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/1222/tamnavulin-1966-forrester
- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/81686/highland-park-1956
- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/17254/macallan-1958
- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/37427/talisker-12-year-old
- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/14320/springbank-1966-private-bottling
- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/1290/ardbeg-1976-cask-2396
- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/28465/ben-nevis-1966
- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/7297/bowmore-1956
- https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/764/ardbeg-ten-cask-strength

Yes, this was flabbergasting even by the high standards of the early 2000's...
hs305 scored this whisky 96 points
20 apr 2017 2:11 pm

[November, 2002] I had this dram during a Prof. Schobert "Islay" tasting at Rolandsbogen.

In my old rating system (ten scales that translate into WB points: 50 - 66 - 75 - 80 - 82,5 - 85 - 87,5 - 90 - 92,5 - 95) I scored this 95. My notes state a very dark colour and a few slow legs (oily texture at the glass). The nose is all about beautiful sherry-induced aromas. The mouthfeel is smooth, rounded and warming. On the palate there are sweet, nutty, peaty and smoky flavours. The finish is long and delicious.
Allandale scored this whisky 94 points
13 mar 2017 8:57 am
Light to medium body, Slightly chewy.

Nose

Dusty anf earthy.

Taste

Chewy sweetness. Earthy. Bitter chocolate.

Finish

Powerful, long, warming. Woody. Menthol. Spearmint.
Prof.Schoof did not rate this whisky
06 feb 2015 9:21 am

This Whisky was sold for 1.105 € at Whiskyauction in Jan. 2015
Furtia scored this whisky 94 points
23 nov 2012 3:32 am
A spectacular whisky, incredibly complex and unique. One of the top 20 Ardbeg bottles I`d dare to say, but needs A LOT of time to settle and develop. Just then,the magic begins
- Nose
  
  95 95
- Taste
  
  93 93
- Finish
  
  97 97

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