Ardbeg Grooves (2018 Committee Release)

This one is huge and rich. Really nice blend of smoke, bbq, and a hint of sweet. Definitely not the standard Ardbeg. Really enjoyable

Smoky, salty, meaty

Tasted on 8/8/2020 Islay. Natural Color. Non-Chill Filtered. I'm a lucky duck to taste this gent. We got brown sugar, peat, smoke, molasses, butterscotch. This is my jam. It's certainly the best Islay I've had. Everything with Ardbeg seems to be a hit with me.

The flavor is quite robust and balanced. It could use some improvement to reduce the mint and bitterness. It's fairly unique. It starts with some orange fruitiness, but the sweetness from that quickly fades to heavy smoke with a solid dose of peat. Some mint is clearly present. There is some mineral flavor with a bit of sea spray. It tastes a little bit like stale bread, but not too much. The bitterness is really strong on the finish, which is a bit disappointing. The cereal is pretty good. There is a lot going on, but the flavors do not marry terrifically and there are a few disappointingly youthful flavors.