Ardbeg - 23YO, 2000/2023, Y2K, 46% (WB88.72) (Cash/Credit card price separated)

Nose Herbal, sweet and fragrant, with a subtle, distant perfumed smokiness. Next a quirky, zesty note like lemon balsam emerges, along with a suggestion of linseed oil and candied walnuts. A splash of water and the fragrance intensifies, emitting heather honey, a touch of creosote and the tiniest trace of tent canvas.

Palate The texture is fizzy and effervescing (sherbety), with a real, vibrant effervescence on the tongue. At first, the flavour is intensely sweet, then shifts as aniseed, toffee, digestive biscuits, peppermint, menthol, tar and coffee grits burst through.

Finish The sooty/tarry flavours keep building, until they finally dissolve into a long, lingering aftertaste of antiseptic lozenges, bitter oranges and oak tannins.