Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Rating: 21/23 Bottle kill tasting. This bottle has been oxidizing for a couple of years now, so it may not be the most representative, but I'll be using it for my tasting. N: Ashy smoke, peat, pepper, dried banana, bacon. This is really more smoky and meaty than I'd remembered, giving me a bit of a Lagavulin vibe. P: None of the sherry of the Ardbeg Uigeadail. This is peat, smoke, tar, vanilla, a dash of dried banana, big black pepper, hints of tropical fruits, maybe faint licorice. This is like the Ardbeg 10's older sibling. Leather starts coming out, nicely enhancing the profile. This tastes older than Ardbeg 10, with less tropical fruit and more boldness. There is a refined, mature character to the Ardbeg 10 that doesn't make it through here though. If this were marketed as Arbeg 10 Cask Strength, I could believe that is what it was. F: Smoke, peat, pepper, vanilla, a little banana. - Conclusion - This is awesome. It's a tough call between this and the Uigeadail (19/23), but there's a a better balance and maturity here (likely due to the very heavy oxidization). Actually, putting them side by side, this is clearly better than the Uigeadail. At this intense level of oxidization, this is beating the Uigeadail. I spent a while being torn between a 20 and a 21 for this, but then I pulled out Port Charlotte 10 and decided that the Port Charlotte is a 20 and this is a 21. A grain of salt though: the oxidization here is enormous, so a fresh bottle may not be as good. This was $67 when I bought my bottle and it was well worth that price. At $85 now, I think it's still worth the money, but the rapid run up in price still has me sad.

Magnificent creamy earth peat.

Smokey bbq, with slight fruitflavours coming through. I'd say more meaty and fruity than Uigeadail, where Uigeadail leans more towards sweet caramel.

Like the whole Ardbeg line, you get a delicious, meaty Islay here. What makes this offering stand out is the intense, sweet fruit bites that just slap you across the face. They are so strong that they give the combination punch of peat and smoke a real run for their money. I find this full of heavy, enjoyable layers, but if you aren’t up for the sweets, stick to Uigeadail (which I love equally!)