The Village Spirits Fair 2026 – Part II

Of course we also had to try some peated Scotch at the Whisky Village 2026. Therefore, we visited Ardbeg and Laphroaig. Yet, we ended on a high note with some exclusive Japanese whisky.

‘Hidden’ smoky drams

At the Glenmorangie and Ardbeg booth I was so blown away by the drams we tried that I forgot to take good pictures. The Scottish marketing manager first showed us the new Ardbeg Ten Cask Strength which was smoky and intense, but very delicate beneath all that smoke. The Glenmorangie 18 Years also did not disappoint. Yet, the two drams which impressed us the most were the Ardbeg 17-years-old and the Ardbeg Y2K 24-year-old. Heavily peated whiskies do develop a character of their own with 15 + years.

Two different elements

Next, we visited Suntory Global Spirits and we tried the Elements 2.0 and Elements 3.0. The 2.0 had a prolonged fermentation time which really resulted in a fruitier dram. The smoke of the whisky was a bit more tamed than with your usual Laphroaig. In contrast, the 3.0 greeted us with intense smoke, but tending more towards a bonfire. The peaty, phenols shine through towards the aftertaste.

Japanese whisky bucket list

At the other end of the Beam Suntory “bar” were the Japanese whiskies. Starting with the Hibiki Japanese Harmony, a great introduction to everyone from non-whisky drinkers to whisky aficionados we continued with the Yamazaki 18-year-old. This one definitely was on my whisky bucket list! It is hard to describe the complexity of this dram. The sherry cask influence becomes noticeable, but without overpowering the more subtle floral flavours. Yes, for the last whisky of the day we got a drop of Yamazaki 25 which is just insane. This really is a single malt which leaves you speechless for a while!

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. I received the tickets for the spirits fair for free from Stock Spirits.