Ardbeg Ardcore (2022 Committee Release)

Whoo - Crazy spicy with only subtle peat & smoke

Recently Ardbeg has suffered some backlash because people think that their latest releases aren't as good as they were 4-5 years ago. In my personal experience i have liked almost all of them, some where better than others but i believe that "Scorch" or "Fermutation" were actually amazing drams. Having said that, their expression that suffered the most critics was this "Ardcore", made using "Dark Roasted Barley" (i don't know if it is the same as the one the same company, LVMH, uses in the almighty Glenmorangie Signet, which is an incredible whisky). I already rated the normal "Ardcore", and now it is time for me to rate the committee release; which is basically the same single malt at a higher strength, 50.1%abv. On the nose, starts with notes of wood polisher, cotton socks, lots of sawdust; smoked chitterling. I also get some liquid paper and a wet dog, lol. Letting it breath a little released an aroma of nerf toys, organic soil; it actually smells like a fish market and a cow stable mixed together. Not my favorite Ardbeg here. On the palate, it fails to develop something interesting or bold as the bottle marketing suggests. Vanilla, sweet bread. It feels weird, not very pleasant. Glue and hints of chocolate. Aftertaste surely feels like the best part. Plastic, very long finish; car tires, oily and Kerosene (in a good way). Overall, this is in no way, shape or form a good value for your money. It is not a bad or off-putting, it just lacks emotion and complexity. It feels like Ardbeg really threw something cheap and unfinished here. The normal release (46%abv) is a lot better and it wasn't impressive. My score for this one is a dissapointing 83 over 100.