Ardbeg Grooves

Oaky, Rich, and peaty. Nose of leather jacket and acetone. Not my favourite Ardbeg, but a tasty dram nonetheless.

On the nose there is baked cinnamon apples ,caramel, hard candy with faint iodine and bandaid scents. On the palate this is oily, baked fruit, peaty, and smoked poultry. It finishes with a briny campfire, iodine, and a sharp warmth.

Ardbeg day is upon us. Kids dropped off at swimming and I'm here at my local retailer celebrating. Now I've already tasted the committee which was a great dram. This...this is good but not the same level of deep rich char, tastes like what it is a watered down version. The char still seems to over power anything else going on...which is weird as I thought the reduced abv would help. Elements of the lemony flavour largely absent in the committee come through. Definitely not in my top Ardbegs. Kelpie, Dark Cove, Cory and Uggie I'd have put ahead of this once price is factored in from memory. Although interestingly I also drank the Kelpie and Uggie with this one after I typed that up and although the Uggie kept its place the Kelpie wasn't as good as I remembered but it was the third dram. Solid 4 I'll give it down from the 4.25 for the committe which amazingly is the same price so I might get a bottle of that as if I don't drink I def won't lose $$.

Another live dispatch from Feis Ile. Unfortunately I’m missing Ardbeg’s open day at the end of the week because we’re leaving midway through the festival to continue our Highlands road trip. Thankfully, Ardbeg offers free samples and sells bottles of their festival release, Grooves, before the big day! I was ecstatic to get my hands on this and it did not disappoint. This has been the bottle of Feis Ile for me so far. The nose explodes with scents of sweet, crisp apple and earth. This is a complex dram with flavor far outpacing its moderate 46% ABV. The palate has a divine, creamy mouthfeel and a rich, savory combination of caramel (the dominant note) and spicy smoked salami. This whisky finishes with smoky, earthy, cappuccino peat. This is one of the best 3-5 scotches I’ve had in my life.