Ardbeg An Oa

A dram of this and a free glass were our consolation prizes after being told by Ardbeg's Visitor Center Manager, Jackie Thomson, that she didn't want to fill the next distillery tour because the group required an interpreter and she thought it might be too busy for them. I assume it was the group of Frenchies we saw double-cheek kissing her while we were having lunch in their renovated and upscale cafe. For those of you that don't know the history, Glenmorangie bought Ardbeg from Hiram Walker in 1997 when production was limited. Glenmorangie was then acquired by LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton), the luxury goods conglomerate, in 2004. LVMH has net income of about $6 billion on annual sales of around $35 billion. Much of these inflated profits come from people willing to spend up to $10,000 for a Louis Vuitton handbag made with about $20 bucks of cheap leather. Not wanting to get ripped off, I only spend about $1,500 for my wife's Gucci's made with the same cheap leather. Anyway, since Ms. Thomson was very polite and also easy on the eyes, she somehow mesmerized us into not getting worked up. The important thing to be gleaned from all of this is the direction both Glenmorangie and Ardbeg are heading with NAS expressions. Since the acquisition of Glenmorange by LVMH, their bottles have been redesigned to have a more curvaceous and appealing look. They are also coupled with elegant sounding names such as The Quinta Ruban, Nectar d'Or, and LaSanta. Soon, we will need to order our whisky with the assistance of a sommelier. Ardbeg is going in a similar direction with a lineup of cool sounding NAS whiskies designed to get to market quickly. Double maturation, quarter-casking, and use of virgin American and European oak are all experiments that have produced some excellent single-malts in an accelerated timeframe, so I wouldn't expect this trend to end anytime soon. After all, increased sales and profits are the name of the game. As for Ardbeg AN OA, well...........I've never had an Ardbeg that I would rate less than 4 stars, and the same holds true here. My favorite, however, is still Ardbeg 10, so I hope they don't mess with the recipe.

Here's an interesting experiment, the first new permanent Ardbeg expression in years and years. The result is . . . something that smells and tastes a lot like Ardbeg 10: smoke, peat, hay, citrus, seasalt, gravel, and some faint sherry. It finishes with a really nice coda of peat and malt. The resemblance was so strong that I poured a glass of Ardbeg 10 to compare them head-to-head. An Oa has an oilier nose and is moderately richer on the palate and finish. I’m a little unnerved — the fact that this product is so similar to 10 suggests that Ardbeg may get out of the age statement game altogether and just have An Oa, Uigeadail, and Corryvreckan as their unpronounceable, triple-threat permanent range. Perhaps that's not the worst thing in the world. An Oa is a respectable substitute for 10, albeit a more expensive one, but I'll give it the same rating that I gave the 10. I hope that, if the distillery gets rid of 10, they drop the price of this expression just a little bit to make up for it. But, since Ardbeg presumably is run by capitalists, that is not going to happen. Thanks to Telex for the sample!

Interesting, interesting. I bought a bottle of this and the Kelpie today (which I tasted and loved on Ardbeg day). Lemony pepper, Ardbeg 10ish is the profile I got out of it. If I was being cynical (and honest) I'd say it's an Ardbeg Ten with a bit of a twist at a higher price point which allows them to discontinue the 10 yr eventually, free up more casks for their NAS range and justify the overall rolling price increase of their core range. So do I like it? It's not bad. Would I buy another bottle? No. Back to back we paired it against the Redbreast Lasatau (and several other 50ml whisky samples) and we kept going back to the RBL. I'll give it a 3.25 rounding down to a 3. Initially I had rated higher but having drunk it a few times more it's to similar to the thin lemony pepper profile of the 10 yr which I'm not a huge fan of vs the viscous tarrish sherrish profile of the Ugie or the rich oily peaty sweetness of the Kelpie. So in summary 2nd to last (b4 the 10) in my Ardbeg favourite list.

Scotland, September 2017 (from notes). Nose: Classic Ardbeg sweet smoke with some sharp gingery and pepper spices that never quite dethrone the sweet, briny seaweed smells. There's some pine resin and even star anise in there as well. Palate: Sweet and peaty to start with, developing into a most unusual combination of creamy, oily and dry spices plus a whiff of smoked ham and smoked herring. Underneath there's some aniseed and something like chewing tobacco, but mild, and some orange marmalade. Finish: Long, sweet and rich but touches of dark chocolate keep any sense of being cloying at bay. A little citrus at the very end. A young but well-behaved NAS that provides a nice experience overall and is a good addition to the core range. There is an unmistakable similarity to the 10 year old but more diversity of aroma and flavor, however there is also arguably less focus and depth. It’s wider but not as deep, if you take my meaning, and a bit sweeter. 46.6% is the perfect strength for this - I enjoyed it neat, with a drop of water, and even quite heavily watered (even right down to about 30% abv). Very good in every guise. The name "An Oa" (pronounced "Anne-O") means "The O", in reference to a rounded peninsula on Islay and is a conceit referring to the rounded nature of the dram. Top stuff at a reasonable price. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Tasted at WhiskyFest San Francisco 2017 More subtle than Ardbeg 10 Not worth $25 more per bottle than Ardbeg 10