Ardbeg An Oa

Very smoky, but smooth enough

Barley, smoked, peppered apple, and creamy mint milk chocolate greets you initially on the nose. Honeyed barley shows up at the end of the nose with a slight bandaid note. After a taste there is noticeable maraschino cherry on the nose as well. The palate is sweet grain, honeyed smoke, and brine with bright fruit soaking in it. White peppered apple tamps down the cherry from the brine and fresh picked mint leaf blooms out with an earthy tinge before the honeyed barley and apple closes out the session. This is a great Islay for Speyside drinkers and I found that it fills an interesting niche in the collection, although it was also slightly more forgettable (but pleasant) when tried alongside the Uigeadail.

Not quite as peaty as regular Ardbeg. Still lots of peat but you can taste the sherry