Ardbeg 10 and Laphroaig 10 are whiskies from the same coast, Kildalton east of Port Ellen, with the same age and the same cask type: ten years in ex-bourbon. In the glass, though, they have little in common. Ardbeg is bottled at 46% and non-chill-filtered, with tarry, creosote smoke; Laphroaig at 40% and chill-filtered, with the iodine and sticking-plaster note that makes it unmistakable. In the UK Ardbeg sells for £42-45, Laphroaig for £39-42.
Specs side by side
| Ardbeg 10 | Laphroaig 10 | |
|---|---|---|
| ABV | 46% | 40% |
| Age | 10 years | 10 years |
| Malt ppm | ~55 | ~40 |
| Casks | Ex-bourbon | Ex-bourbon |
| Bottling | Non-chill-filtered | Chill-filtered |
| Launch | 2000 | Early 1900s |
| Availability | Core range | Core range |
| Nose | Dense, dark creosote, tar, railway sleepers; then fresh lemon, light vanilla, wet ash; a grassy note, almost like hay; with water a briny iodine note | Immediate peat with a clearly medicinal character: iodine, seaweed, brine, then vanilla and pale oak; after 10 minutes a more defined lemon note and a toffee or pale honey sweetness |
| Palate | Firm attack of smoke and citrus, without the medicinal burn; black pepper mid-palate, malt sweetness; oily texture; anise and black liquorice, a hint of salt | Dry, smoky entry with a firm saline backbone; vanilla, light caramel, a touch of liquorice and a fine peppery lift; less oily than the higher-strength releases |
| Finish | Long, dry, lemon and ash coming back; creosote at the back and a bitter espresso note; the smoke is the last thing to fade | Medium, more dry than sweet: ash, brine and a persistent medicinal tail, with a liquorice echo and light woody bitterness |
| Price Italy | €45-55 online in Italy (September 2026) | €34-45 online in Italy (September 2026), deals around €32 |
| Price UK | £42-45 (Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange) | £39-42 (Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange) |
| Price US | ~$50-65 | ~$45-60 |
| Score | 85/100 | 84/100 |
What they share
Both are distilleries of the Kildalton area of Islay, alongside Lagavulin, and both lead their range with a ten-year-old matured only in ex-bourbon casks, with no sherry and no finish. The malt is where they start to part ways. Ardbeg takes almost all of it from the Port Ellen Maltings, peated to around 55 ppm. Laphroaig malts about a fifth of its barley on its own floor maltings, dried over its own peat, and buys in the rest; its malt is peated to around 40 ppm.
Both also have a cask strength version of the same whisky: Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength comes out in numbered batches, the latest at 58.3%, while Ardbeg Ten Cask Strength is a recent Committee Release at 61.7%, reserved for members of the Ardbeg Committee, the distillery’s official fan club. It is sold out on the official website, but can be found elsewhere with some effort.
Ardbeg 10 at 46%
Ardbeg 10 arrived in 2000. In the UK it sells for £42-45 as of September 2026.
Nose: creosote first, dense and dark. Tar, railway sleepers. Then fresh lemon, light vanilla from the bourbon casks, a base of wet ash. Swirling the glass brings up a grassy note, almost like hay. With water, a briny iodine note opens up.
Palate: a firm attack of smoke and citrus, without the medicinal burn you might expect from a 55 ppm malt. Black pepper develops mid-palate, with a malt sweetness that balances without becoming cloying. The texture is oily, full for 46%. Later in the sip, anise and black liquorice come through, with a hint of salt at the end. Water softens the pepper but does not shut down the smoke, and opens up more citrus and a note of damp ash.
Finish: long, dry, with lemon and ash coming back. The creosote stays at the back like a signature, joined by a bitter espresso note. It dries slowly without becoming astringent. The smoke is the last thing to fade.
Score: 85/100.
In my experience, that mineral creosote at the base is the note that makes Ardbeg recognisable among all the peated whiskies of Islay. It comes back identical in old bottlings from the 1980s and in recent single casks. It is the marker that separates it from a Laphroaig, where the medicinal note arrives first and the smoke is heavier.
Laphroaig 10 at 40%
Laphroaig 10 is the distillery’s flagship, a medicinal, coastal peated whisky you can pick out on the nose alone. It is easy to find almost anywhere, supermarkets included, at £39-42.
Nose: immediate peat with a clearly medicinal character. Iodine, seaweed, brine, then vanilla and pale oak. After 10 minutes it tends to open up: a more defined lemon note appears and a sweetness like toffee or pale honey. The bandage note remains, but it becomes less sharp and more integrated into the smoke.
Palate: dry, smoky entry with a firm saline backbone. The medicinal element is present but does not take over: vanilla, light caramel, a touch of liquorice and a fine peppery lift. It does not have the oily density of higher-strength releases, but it holds its balance between smoke and sweetness.
Finish: medium, more dry than sweet. Ash, brine and a persistent medicinal tail, with a liquorice echo and light woody bitterness. It is not a long or demanding finish, but it is consistent and clean.
Score: 84/100.
Where they really differ
The first difference is the kind of smoke, not the amount of peat. Ardbeg’s malt is the more heavily peated, around 55 ppm against 40, and the new make coming off the stills keeps more phenols too: about 25 ppm against 18. Yet the medicinal signature belongs to Laphroaig: iodine, sticking plaster, seaweed. Ardbeg leans towards tar, creosote and ash, with a touch of lemon.
The second is distillation. Ardbeg’s spirit still has a purifier on its lyne arm, a small copper vessel that sends part of the heavier vapours back into the pot, so the new make comes out lighter and more refined. Laphroaig distils slowly, with steeply rising lyne arms that hold back the heavier oils. According to Laphroaig, it makes its first cut only after 45 minutes, later than any other distillery.
The third is body. Six points of ABV and no chill filtration show on the palate: the Ardbeg is oily and full, the Laphroaig drier and leaner. They also take water differently: the Ardbeg keeps its smoke, while in the Laphroaig a few drops bring the sweetness forward and soften it slightly.
Then there is price. In the UK the Ardbeg costs about three pounds more, in Italy about ten euros more.
Tar or iodine
Ardbeg 10 is for anyone after tarry smoke with a citrus edge and a full, weighty body. Laphroaig 10 is an easier-drinking whisky, less aggressive but decidedly medicinal. Both feature among our peated whiskies under €50.
