Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Such a wonderful dram every time you pour. The nose is a open fire that feels like you're standing in front of, along with a muddy, wet grass, on the shores of a beach somewhere, so good. If you blind tasted this, and were asked what proof was it, you'd be surprised with finding it at 57.1% alcohol, it doesn't come off that strong. With a proof that high I usually take it with ice, but this was so interesting that I drank it without. There is so much flavor hitting you underneath that smoke, it's fun just trying to find out what you're tasting as it hits you. I get beacon, cherry, dark chocolate, and a nice alcohol burn, I know this is Scotch, but I'm getting "The Kentucky Hug" once I swallow. It's a pricey Scotch at $90, but I'm glad I bought it, I'd pick it up again and only share it with another whiskey lover. This is a whiskey lover's drink, they certainly can appreciate the impact of the pour.

A few years ago, I picked up the Ardbeg 10, which came with a sample of the Ugi and the Corry. I was just getting into peat, and loved the 10, but I simply was not ready for the other two. Though, I remember preferring the Corry of the two. Fast forward to just a few months ago, and I found myself writing a 5 star review for the Ugi. So now, it's time to tackle the Corry, and see just how far I've come in my whisky journey. Nose: Big puffs of peat and campfire smoke. Iodine, sea salt, seaweed, and brine roll in as secondary Islay notes (these move toward the front with time.) Dark sweet notes. Dark chocolate, blueberries, blackberries, raisin, black cherry. Citrus notes of lemon, grapefruit, and orange. More sweetness: honey, vanilla, graham cracker. Meaty notes of steak, bacon, with some red pepper, black pepper, and black bean chili. Worth noting there is an initial sulfur note that dissipates rather quickly. This just keeps developing with time in the glass. Just an absurd amount of quality aromas here. Palate: The seaweed, brine, sea salt, and iodine take the forefront, while the campfire smoke waits until the mid-palate to reemerge. Sulfur is once again detectable, but is gone after a few minutes. Big-time lemon, lime, and grapefruit citrus. Loads of back pepper. Major custard as well. Mint and dark chocolate. Jammy sweetness. Vanilla, caramel, and toffee. Some apple, pear, and apricot. Blueberry and blackberry translate from the nose. Enter honeydew and cantalope. Black currant. Almond, chestnut, and walnut. A bit more steak and chili. So much to report here. All positive. Finish: Long as they come. Apple, pear, black cherry, vanilla, caramel, honey. A major hit of smoke and iodine. All types of chocolate. A bit of smoke, now faded as if I'm picking up early morning traces of a bonfire from the night prior. Sea salt and seaweed. The salinity on the finish transports me back to childhood memories of the beach. Sprinting down into the water one final time so that the ocean could wash off the last specs of sand before I hopped in Mom's car for the ride home. Powerful finish that conjures up some amazing memories. This one is truly special. I don't have a favorite whisky. And I probably will never formally declare one single winner. There are too many standouts. But I'll say this: you won't get me to admit there's not a whisky that's better than this one. It's reaches absolute elite status in my mind. A true gold standard. So. Is it better than Ugi? Better than the Lap Lore? How does it stack up to the Lap Cairdeas line? Would I say the same things if I did a side-by-side with any of the Lag 12 releases? These are all questions that I hope to answer in the coming months; when I've got the time to grab a pair of Glencairns and orchestrate some dream match-ups. But in regard to the Ardbeg Corryvreckan, I'll say this: Drinking this, in a perfectly objective vacuum, it simply does not get any better than this. 5/5.

Strong taste,you can feel the abv. but still fruity,peaty and prefer this one then Uigeadail.

Vôňa: rašelina nieje tak agresívna, náznaky ovocia Chuť: výrazná chuť rašeliny z až pečenej slaniny. 57,1% citeľnýchz dlhá dochut.

Wow. Wonderful peat and smoke flavor that is SO smooth, particularly for the 114 proof.