We started our 4th round of getting together to split 15 bottle of scotch with an Ardbeg (Wee Beastie), and we finish that round with an Ardbeg. Lots to look forward to for round 5. We're going to start with Dalmore and end with Dalmore this time. We've got a few heavy hitters with Bowmore 18, Caol Ila 15, and Glenfarclas 21, all distilleries whose entry bottles have impressed us and made us want to invest in their fancier bottles.
Ardbeg An Oa: 46.6% ABV. $105 CAD. Islay region. Blend of PX, virgin oak, ex-bourbon, and French oak casks. No age statement.
We sniff around:
Kyle gets the peat. Smelly socks.
Sean goes for smoky seaweed. Black pepper. Maybe a little minty feel.
Scott says it smells lighter, not rich. Lemon rind.
Trevor gets some caramel. Charcoal.
Simon pulls a little honey note but it's all about the seaweed brine and lemon rind.
We cheers.
Scott gets the black pepper note on the palate. Simon too.
Trevor gets a nice smoky finish. Chewy.
Sean points to the spice. Hint of chocolate. We like that, a really dark, bitter cocoa note on the finish.
Salty salt salt.
We don't get any PX influence here. There's a vague sweetness that Simon thinks is a honey, but nothing that feels or tastes sherried.
Little seaweed salad flavor Simon gets.
Reviews: Sean's pick, he goes with 84. Pretty solid scotch, well balanced. He likes everything about this. Scott lands on 85. It's not super complex, not as much to dig into as the other Ardbegs, he prefers Wee Beastie personally, that said it's got a lot of things he likes. Kyle pins this at 87. Again he likes Wee Beastie just a small notch more, but still, very much enjoying this. He will be picking up a bottle. Trevor goes 86. Same as Wee Beastie. He likes a lot about this scotch, peppery salty, smoky, bitter cocoa note, mint on the nose, it's fun and very enjoyable. Simon is our highest bidder tonight at 88. He's a fan. This has a got a great feel to it, the flavors it's got. Very well done. You can expect this on his shelf at some point. Averages out to 86.
Overall: We've gotta go back to the Ardbeg 10. One of the first scotches we reviewed. Would love to do a side by side. This has a lot of similarities with the Wee Beastie. Maybe a more mature version of it. The Corryvreckan and Uigeadail we all agree are a notch more impressive, but this rates well with us as all Ardbegs have. By all means give it a shot, you won't be disapointed, but be warned that between An Oa, 10, and Wee Beastie, there isn't a big difference in the same way as with Corryvreckan and Uigeadail.
Cheers!
The S&P Crew.
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