Excellent powerful peat smoke throughout, well balanced with light fruit and floral notes to take off the edge. A great full-mouth feel that tingles and warms.
Seems to pluck out and tame all that is best about the Ardbeg 10. With less hay and medicine than the 10, you can concentrate on the smoke which does well to not be too overwhelming.
I just had this for the first time head to head to head with the 10 year and the Ugie. This won out by a hair because it is so much more smooth and drinkable. The heat is displaced by smooth and easy sweetness and the earthy peat is tamed to be not so biting. Among the three botles the Ugie comes close and bang for your buck says the Ugie a well....but I think this wins out for quality in my book.
I've always felt the ANB was more delicate with smoother peat level compared to the oogie. I wasnt a big fan at first and preferred the bigger and more aggresive oogie so I used to do a 50/50 vatting of the two which works out really well. But the ANB really grew on me and I really like its toned down peat. Sad to see it go. B+/A-
Blind Taste: B+/A-
N: Fish oil, preserved herring and the salt from a sea breeze. Theres smoke/ bbq stuff in the background mixed with spicy yet sweet malt.
P: Palate is full of peat, ash and smoke on the forefront followed by sweet malt and citrus. Dense oily mouthfeel.
F: Finish develops slowly starting with bitter pomelo, wax and eventually changes into smoked oolong teas.
n: burnt popcorn with butter, lots of peat smoke (like a sea-water doused campfire at the beach). Also floral and tropical fruit trail mix. Nice big nose that nice and sweet, but isn't grassy.
t: a more sophisitcated, less abrasive peat smoke tempered by a creamy burnt butter and oaky vanilla flavour. Very intense but not so phenolic and plastic-like many other Ardbeg expressions. This is a delicious and well-balanced whisky that is much softer on the "Ardbeg style", but really nice. If this was a bit higher in the ABV...
high B+/right at A-
Great fun to mix this and Uigeadail 50/50 with to create a "Boogie" in the big green Ardbeg glasses.
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