Ardbeg An Oa

Great beginner peat, crisp finish, a bit of tang

Was super excited about this when a friend decided to uncork his bottle. We poured two drams, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then jumped in. Biggest disappointment to an Ardbeg I've ever had. Almost nothing on the nose, the palette was bland and the finish was gone in a blink of an eye. Frustrated, we added 3 drops of water and waited 5 minutes. WOW! What a difference a few drops of water made. All of a sudden it became an Ardbeg. The nose popped of smoke and brine. We had to make sure we hadn't poured something else because it was so shocking. On the palette it came alive with campfire soot, salt spray and vanilla. Then the finish lingered for a good 8-10 seconds revealing more smokey wasps and a faint cranberry(??) glow. I'm not sure if this is a 4 star dram, but because of the Phoenix-like transformation it made with just a few drops of water it easily gets that grade from me for the experience alone. This one is a fun one to try with friends.