Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire 10 yo (40%, Atom, 2020)
An undisclosed single malt from Islay, 25% of which was finished 1st fill oloroso sherry octaves. The name is very 'Atom', while, conversely, I believe 1992 is on the phone asking for its bottling strength back. Colour: gold. Nose: but what's this? An OB Laphroaig 10yo from circa 2002? This very particular aroma of iodine, hessian, seawater and cough medicines. Extremely easy and rather nicely attuned to a very specific aroma of 'peat smoke' in the most classical sense. I find it disconcertingly charming. Mouth: it is probably the bottling strength, but this really does feel like drinking a decent batch of OB Laphroaig 10. There's a few citrus fruits, soft peat smoke and rather a lot of wet rocks and medical embrocations. I have to say, it's quite a lot of fun. Finish: medium, perhaps a tad short, but still nicely medicinal, on iodine, light TCP notes and good old peat smoke. Comments: There's a lot about this that, on paper, I probably shouldn't enjoy because it goes against the modern geek code - whatever that is. But this is actually a rather clever and very good, easy quaffing wee Islay dram. Someone at Beam should go check the Laph 10yo vatting tank for syphons though… either that or Atom have developed cloning technology. If that's the case, do they take requests? Shotgun Bowmore Bouquet!
SGP: 565 - 85 points.

Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire 10 yo 'Cask Strength Batch 4' (58.3%, Atom, 2021, 1250 bottles)
This one seems to be pretty much the same as the 40%, in that 25% has been sherry finished, only bottled at cask strength. Colour: deep orangey gold. Nose: a little more rugged, sharper, wilder and with more assertiveness from the wood. Wood spices, charcoal, peat embers, feels more modern but in the best sense. I'm also finding graphite oil, touches of seawater, rubber and tar. With water: aligns a little more with the 40% version but still feels more spicy, more raw and more meaty. I get some nice kippery smoke and cough medicines now. Mouth: a big arrival, all on bitter wood spices, black pepper, tar, smoked teas, cured meats such as salami with chilli and aniseed. Salted liquorice, Bovril, star anise, eucalyptus oils, camphor and salt-cured venison. With water: tar, cask char, TCP, leathery smokiness. A big, gruff, modern peaty monster. 'Rufty tufty' as my dad was fond of saying. Finish: long, herbal, gamey, spicy, sooty and tarry. I find rather a lot of herbal toothpaste in the aftertaste. Comments: hard to argue with this one, excellent, modern, full-powered Islay malt whisky. I think the wood is quite present here, but it remains in balance. I particularly enjoy all these wee herbal aspects.
SGP: 577 - 87 points.

Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire 10 yo 'Sherry Casks & Cask Strength' Batch 2 (55.3%, Atom, 2021, 1230 bottles)
This one is full sherry finished. Colour: orangey amber. Nose: a notable gear shift, this is much creamier and displays a more velvety smokiness. Resinous hardwoods, smoked teas, verbena, eucalyptus, tea tree oil and smoked meats. The sherry sits behind the peat and doesn't feel too jarring, it's rather more about wood spice and peat smoke together I would say. With water: softer spice tones, coal dust, bonfire embers and this impression of medicinal herbs. Mouth: a similarly easy arrival, all on soft wood spices, smoked teas, sweet peat smoke, natural tars, wood resins, putty and aniseed. More impressions of herbal cough syrups and things like hessian and wormwood. I like it a lot but it strays very close to being a little too wood-dominant for me. With water: not too sure with water, I think it loses a little definition and the alignment between peat and wood goes slightly awry. There's still plenty of sooty and peaty 'oomph' about it though. Finish: rather long, all menthol tobaccos, bitter herbal extracts, spices, liquorice and tar. Comments: this one veers about quite a lot. Lots of emphatic, peaty pleasures to be had, but for me the wood is a tad too much here. However if you enjoy this rather creamy, spicy modern wood-forward style then you'll probably have a blast. Quite clever wee concoctions these Seaweed things, I would say.
SGP: 576 - 86 points.

Ardbeg 14 yo 2005/2019 (51.9%, The Whisky Cellar, cask #700038, 25 bottles)
I just could not find a photo of this one anywhere, but with only 25 bottles, do we really need one? [Editor's Note: we made every sacrifice to provide one from WF's own archive]. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: lighter style Ardbeg that's immediately enchanting and evocative with these whiffs of green olive, coastal herbs, white flowers, beach pebbles and mineral salts. Very fresh and coastal with the smoke being more brittle, taut and doing various more structural things in the background. With water: now on camphor, smoked sea salt, hospitals and some lemon juice mixed with olive brine. Mouth: bigger and more punchy on arrival. On seawater, lemon juices, a slightly grubbier smokiness that would suggest puffer fumes and smouldering hay, then things like dried seaweed, nori and hessian. Top notch modern Ardbeg. With water: preserved lemons, parsley, iodine drops, pink grapefruit and more seawater and briny touches. Finish: long, with a nice sooty / smoky combo, soy sauce, anchovy paste, dried mint and hessian. Comments: rock solid modern Ardbeg that shows what great distillate they still make there when not treated with silly woods. Now, go find a bottle…
SGP: 466 - 90 points.

Ardbeg 26 yo 1994/2021 (47.4%, Cadenhead 'Authentic Collection', bourbon hogshead, 210 bottles)
The mid 1990s could be a bit of a mixed bag for Ardbeg in my experience. Colour: straw. Nose: this 1990s style becomes far more 'obvious' and distinctive now that there's enough water under the bridge between the 1970s heyday and the Glenmorangie modern era. This is really focussed on warm peppery notes and lots of camphor, hessian, tarry rope and also things such as lemon verbena, earl grey tea with lemon peel and kind of heathery, mentholated peat smoke. Light but also with its own kind of weight and distinctiveness. Mouth: nicely salty, good sharpness from various citrus flavours, crisp peat smoke, white pepper - there's just also a feeling of emptiness to an extent in the mid-palate which gives the whole thing a slightly feeling of hollowness. More soft smoky tea notes, smoked sea salt, lime boiled sweets and still rather a lot of hessian and rope impressions. Finish: medium length, crisp dry smokiness, lightly herbal, medicinal and still quite peppery. Comments: There's lots to enjoy here, and some quite specific aged characters that seem only to be found in Ardbegs from this era. It's just that the palate feels a tad light at times. Quality is still high though.
SGP: 565 - 88 points.

Ardbeg 27 yo 1973/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing 'Old Malt Cask', 228 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: it's that rarest of things: a fruity Ardbeg! We're not talking 60s Bowmore levels of fruit here, but there are indeed some nicely elegant notes of grapefruit and tangerine coming through. I think you can find these profiles only really in batches from 1973 with Ardbeg. There's also bandages, eucalyptus oils, fir wood resins, natural tar and pickled fruits. Quite aromatic and detailed. With water: much more herbal, some kind of smoked breads, bouillon stocks, fennel and light tarriness. Mouth: big, rather sharp arrival, hugely sooty and salty. Natural tar, beach wood, bandages again, mineral salts, more grapefruit and iodine. It's also rather dry and dusty too - a slightly difficult one I think. With water: there's some pleasing citrus, some nicely chiselled smokiness, mineral salts, seawater and a touch of malt vinegar. But this is a bit of an unusual Ardbeg for the era. Finish: quite long, saline, crisply smoky, light wood ashes and hessian. Comments: A tad frustrating really, given how utterly luminous these vintages almost always are for Ardbeg. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to enjoy here, but it's perhaps more an Ardbeg for completists.
SGP: 475 - 86 points.