Lost in Space: Ardbeg Galileo

Ardbeg Galileo is a special edition Ardbeg issued to commemorate the distillery sending some of its whisky into space (I kid you not). Unlike many of their recent special editions, this one has a vintage; it's from whiskies distilled in 1999 and bottled in 2012. It's a combination of marsala cask aged whisky with regular bourbon barrel aged Ardbeg.

Ardbeg Galileo, 49% abv ($95)

The nose on this is very nice with some typical Ardbeg notes as well as some smoked fish. Unfortunately, it really falls apart on the palate. It starts off with very sweet wine notes, sweetens to Kool Aid levels, then comes a weird sort of spice on the tail. The finish is short, which is odd for Ardbeg, and slightly spicy with light peat.

I've pretty loyally tried the official Ardbeg releases over the past few years and I can honestly say this is the one I've liked least of any Ardbeg official bottling I've had. There is a weird spicy note (possibly from the Marsala) and a strong sweetness with regular Ardbeg notes in the background. There is just something about it that doesn't work for me.

I guess I can stand by my contention that Ardbeg is one of the most overrated distilleries.