Ardbeg An Oa

Nose medium, full body, slightly bitty finish not great.

Nose: Peaty, slightly medicinal, sweet, vanilla? Palate: creamy, oily sweet Finish: short

Straw color, a bit hazy, medium to low viscosity - something you would expect from a relatively young non-chill-filtered and non-colored dram. Nose is rich with charcoal peat (hey, it’s Ardbeg after all), briny notes, and a bit of a sweet floral character way on the back. Palate is rich with intense smoke, vanilla, oak, and sherry-like sweetness. After that initial sip your nose gets more used to smoke, and more fruit notes start to appear with some apple, caramel, and vanilla rounding the dram. Aftertaste is long and dominated by smoke. This time is gains more medicinal and iodine character. A few drops of water in this 46% ABV whisky dampens the smoke and opens more floral sweetness. Hints of lemon zest also start appearing. The finish becomes less intense and a bit more balanced. Overall, this is a pleasant dram for peat lovers. It has all the character of a classic 10-year Ardbeg with a bit more sweetness that compliments it quite well.

Neat in Glencairn at home. Nose has smoke and brine, as expected for an Ardbeg, though somewhat muted, and is joined by some spearmint and clove. Interesting. Taste is dry and peppery, with smoke over top of meadow grass, orange peel, more pepper and mint that continue in the long finish. Good, but I like the more straightforward punch of the Ten. Adding a couple drops of water, though, does bring out the smoke and brine over the pepper and mint, and becomes surprisingly less complex but yet more enjoyable. With the addition of a few drops of water, this meets my high expectations for this fantastic distiller. 10/8/19