Unless you actually buy a cask and get samples every year , it's impossible to see how a malt developes through the years till it gets to the age of it's bottling . Fortunately for us the good people of Glenmorangie plc have made it possible for us to see how their own distillation of Ardbeg has done this over the final years before it becomes the new release of 10yo .

It all started back in late 2003 when they decided to do a committee bottling of the first distillation in 1997 under the labelling of "Very Young Ardbeg ...For Discussion" , at the tender age of 6yo this juvenile Ardbeg was unleashed on us unsuspecting committee members . I can still remember my first try of it in The Old Kiln late on a November Friday Afternoon .....

To say it was a revelation was a bit of an understatement ! On my notes i wrote..... " It was smooth , very smooth , there was smoke and peat but not the pungancy of the current A10 , i don't know if it was imagination ( or just sitting trying it in The Old Kiln) but there was a hell of a hint of Iodine in the background (the old Ardbeg Iodine , similar to what was in the old 10yo , 30yo and early 70's stuff) . I also got a slight hint of cocoa (chocolate )."

It was a hit with the committee members so a decision was taken to put it on general sale , releasing an age statement each year until the 10yo was released . Only , due to technical difficulties at the distillery during 1997 , it was decided it would be the 1998 distillation .

Now that we've reached the penultimate bottling to the New TEN, how has The Ardbeg Progressed down the years ? I decided to try them side by side with the current standard bottling , the TEN .

The Very Young Ardbeg.....For Discussion(bottled 2003) - Still very mature for its age , Peat , smoke , slight Iodine and Chocolate on the nose , not at all nose tingling for its 58.9% . Smooth over the palate , very peaty with a long finish , again slight iodine with cocoa , a lovely warming dram all the way down !

The Ardbeg Very Young (bottled 2004) - A touch prickly on the nose , again peat and smoke then a nice malty smell . Also a slight dark Chocolate smell in the background . Once again extremely smooth over the palate , bags of peat on the palate and in the finish , Cocoa lingering on the finish as well . At 58.3% once again this is not a harsh youngster , if anything it's a little bit smoother than the VYA .

The Ardbeg Still Young (bottled 2006) - At 56.2% this one is definitely easy on the nose ! First thing that grabs you is a creaminess and a more refined peatiness to the nose . also a more maritime smell to the nose ( standing on a sea shore ) . I described this originally as " a creamy peat smoke delight" on the palate , i haven't changed my opinion ! The iodine and cocoa are there as well , a delight over the palate and in the finish , beautiful balance , no harshness , a sophisticated peatiness !!!!