Ardbeg Galileo

While rare in the sense that Ardbeg Galileo, as a limited edition bottling from Ardbeg that actually HAS an age statement, we decided to invert that ancient telescope at take a closer look at this rather spendy “maybe but not for sure 12 year old” Islay.

So here’s the story and a fine example of how the marketing fluffies at LVMH envelope their cultist Ardbeg Committee members in their smoke and mirrors.

In April 2012 Ardbeg sent some of its new-make spirit up into space to make Ardbeg the first inter-stellar whisky, so it came as little surprise that in September 2012, at the British Space Centre, this bottle, Ardbeg Galileo was throw to the masses, where it was mopped up like spew off the carpet of a third tier town nightclub floor, at kicking out time.

The Mashup

Apparently this is standard Ardbeg new make spirit, distilled in 1999, bottled in 2012, stated as being matured in ex-bourbon casks and Sicilian Marsala casks.  We’re not sure who came up with that idea, but with Marsala being a ridiculously sweet wine primarily used for cooking, we trust that idiot has since been fired and is now working in a takeaway selling chips with curry sauce.

The Review

It’s just vile.

It’s not even worth tasting notes.  It’s an insult to my palate to attempt to nose and savour this for the sake of pulling together words that aren’t profanities.

I’m personally a huge fan of Ardbeg, as a standard 10 year old bottling.  Sure, it’s not a session whisky.  It’s the last drink at the end of the night, that has the perfect balance of really disgusting characteristics that somehow have an addictive appeal.  Kinda like a masochistic fetish.  You know it hurst to get a really hard spank, but there’s a little bit of pleasure in there.

But this.  Adding in rotten fruit and dog vomit is taking it all a bit too far.

I’m all for mooching free whisky when the brands put on a bit of a show and want to get some free column inches, but if I turned up and this was the free whisky of the night, I’d walk out and go to the nearest dive bar and buy my own whisky.

Bin it.