Remember Ardbeg Dark Cove? A possible new Ardbeg whisky that we discovered last month thanks to the required filling in the American TTB database. There were a lot of speculations about it – is it a new core expression? a replacement for Uigeadail?
Since then the water calmed down and the Ardbeg fans went hibernating but guess what? There’s a new filling for Dark Cove at the TTB database with an updated label!
Feis Ile 2015 was a blast. Or so I was told by friends who attended the Festival. There were many events, lots of music, food and of course lots of whisky. As usual, there were special Festival bottlings by all Islay distilleries and although I wasn’t around, I was lucky enough to secure myself a few samples of them via friends.
This Feis Ile, marked the 200th birthday celebration by Laphroaig and Ardbeg and both distilleries released a special bottling to celebrate the event. Ardbeg bestowed upon the world Ardbeg Perpetuum – a blend of old and young whisky, matured in both bourbon and sherry casks. How special is it? Is it a worthy release for the 200th birthday?
Nose: Hmm, this one has a young and hot nose but thankfully no new make notes. There’s abundant of cereals, honey and vanilla, leading to a very fresh and oily nose. Of course there’s sweet peat and some ashes but it’s far away from the ashy nose of the Ardbeg 10 and much more delicate and rounded. After a few minutes in the glass it’s getting sweeter with fruits, stewed fruits, hint of lemon curd and sugared cereals. Continue reading
Oh, I was supposed to be off today without reviews, but I forgot to post a second Ardbeg review yesterday (along with the Ardbeg Auriverdes) to celebrate the bicentenary of Ardbeg distillery. Therefor here’s a review of the Supernova 2014 I tasted last night to celebrate Ardbeg Day along with my friend Yori.
So Supernova 2014… It’s the third supernova release (following the very successful 2009 and 2010 releases) to celebrate the return to earth of a an ardbeg spirit that spent a couple of years in space. In short, just a marketing gimmick to release another whisky to the faithful followers of Ardbeg
Nose: A mild surprise here as there’s barely any trace of smoke and the 100+ppm is not aggressive (reminds me the Octomore Discovery in that sense). The peat is earthy and very clean (comparing to other Ardbegs). There’re fruits and lots of mellow lemon cream. With some time in the glass the smoke get stronger but not by much. I tried adding water and the smoke intensified and the fruits notes are lovelier with nectarines and apricots. Continue reading
Last day of Feis Ile is always Ardbeg day. Last year Ardbeg released a festival bottling with a Brazilian theme due to the World Cup at the time.
Nose: Peat, pines resin burning in bonfire, all quite restrained for an Ardbeg whisky (No, Blasda isn’t Ardbeg 😉 ). Coffee, mocha and vanilla. Yes, the promised notes are here on the nose. Continue reading
Hello there, I’m back! Did you miss me? 🙂
It’s been a long and busy summer, but now I’m back from summer holidays, recovered from the post-vacation blues (and virus) and it’s time to get in a high gear again.
Here’s a round up of the latest whisky releases, and this time I’m trying a different format for the whisky news roundup posts: We’ll start with headlines and Whisky gospel take on the release and only then we’ll provide the full PR. So, here’s take #1:
Whisky Gospel: Kudos to Tomatin to release a limited edition of 4 whiskies and keep the age statement on. Even the new Cù Bòcan is a refreshing addition (even if in a limited mode). oh, and the price is decent, very decent.
Whisky Gospel: Even more peatier! 20.5 ppm may not sound as much, but remember it’s post-distillation value so good chance it stands up to Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Port Charlotte when it comes to peatiness. Should be an interesting dram.
Whisky Gospel: oh boy, I do understand the ‘need’ to release another community release (been a while since the last one, Alligator) but tie it with the space experiment? and dress Dr Bill Lumsden in Astronaut suit? I bet the supernova will be a solid dram (early review already confirm that), but the price is again ardbeg-y and the hype is there. Sigh.
Whisky Gospel: Like a clock, as expected, on the heels of the Glendronach releases, here comes the BenRiach. Not much to see here except that it’s probably good (very good) whisky, some more affordable and some less. If you can afford it, go on and buy one – it’s probably worth it.
And now for the full press releases. Enjoy! Continue reading
It’s the last day of Feis Ile 2014 and as in previous years, it’s Ardbeg distillery open day.
Today I’ll review a bit old ardbeg which was I was delighted to drink during a local whisky tasting last week – the Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist 17 which was bottled by the new ownership at 2007 but was distilled by the previous one at 1990. Lets haste into the tasting notes: Continue reading
I visited a good friend a while ago and while we chatted on whisky (as expected), we also had a couple of drams from his rich ‘library’. Since we were on a peat strike he pulled out this whisky bottle – a bit older Ardbeg indie bottling. This one was distilled before Ardbeg went through the last owner change and overhaul so it’s interesting to see what is the whisky character of this one comparing to older Ardbegs I tasted in the past.
It’s been a while since I posted some industry whisky news but there were some interesting new releases this week – AnCnoc venture into peated whisky, so does Glenglassaugh. The annual Ardbeg bottling is officially announced (although details were found via the TTB site a few months ago), new Arran 17yo and flavored whisky (well, a spirit, as you can’t call this whisky). Continue reading
Yesterday I posted a recollection of my visit at Ardbeg distillery last October. This is a golden opportunity to also bring you some treat – tasting notes of aged single cask Ardbeg dram.
A bit of history – Ardbeg distillery as we know it today, under Glenmorangie PLC/LVMH group, has started the quest to restore Ardbeg to its previous glory back in 1997. Older stock (especially from the 1970 and earlier) are precious an hard to get and you rarely can find such bottles around (unless you’re willing to pay dearly). Lately, three(!) different Independent bottlers has bottled Ardbeg casks from 1992 as 21yo whisky from Ardbeg: one from Douglas Laing, one from Hunter Laing and the last one from WhiskyBroker which is the one I’m reviewing today after getting a sample from my friend Ben (Thanks Ben!).
Third stop (and 2nd tour) on Islay – Ardbeg distillery. I enjoy their Ardbeg 10 and Uigeadail whiskies a lot, have a couple of their bottles at home and was very happy to finally arrive there and tour the distillery.
Whisky Gospel 