Ardbeg Kelpie

God almighty. This is incredible.

This years annual release from Ardbeg is Kelpie. Matured in virgin oak from the shores of the Black Sea. This is the standard release version, not the committee release which I will be reviewing later. Bottled at 46% ABV and non chill filtered. I believe it is also natural color of a pale gold. A full and rich nose. Voluminous peat smoke, but also quite sweet. Lemon cakes and buttery blueberry muffins. The lemon notes are strong here, but sweeter than the 10 year old, which I find on the tart side. Fireplace ashes, creosote and tar. Beautiful. Lots of creamy vanilla, apples, pears and apricots. Salty seaweed, tobacco and leather. Truly a wonderful nose. The Black Sea oak gives this a very different feel than the Corryvreckan, but does not give quite the level of complexity (probably due to the fact that it's at 46% vs the 57.1% of the Corryvreckan). After some time it gets sweeter, like maple syrup. I could nose this all day. The palate is smoky and sweet. Not too intense at 46%, quite smooth really. Huge peat smoke, ashes, seashore. Peppery oak, licorice, lemon cakes. Rich oak, clove and ginger. Vanilla cream and salted caramels and chocolate. Marvelous. A medium to full body, oily but turns dry. The finish is long, smoky and sweet syrup. Dry Simply Ardbeg. Boy do I love Ardbeg! So much flavor. Smoke smoke smoke. Again, not as complex as the great Corryvreckan, but more than the 10 year old delivers. That Black Sea oak really added a nice layer to this one. At around $110 I'd say that it's worth the price. Not perfect but really good. Can't wait to try that committee release. A huge thanks to Pranay who provided this sample. Solid 4.5 Cheers

October, 2017 Smoky

This NAS whisky from Ardbeg was released in honor of this year’s Feis Isle festival in Islay, Scotland. It’s named after a mythical, shape-shifting water beast that circles the island and terrorizes the locals. The whisky was released in two variations: the regular release and a special committee version that is cask strength. I had the good fortune to be able to try both of these side-by-side thanks to a friend in NJ and as an extra in our distillery trade group. This review is for the regular release that comes in at a robust 46% ABV. As with most Ardbeg’s, it has no color added and is NCF’d. It is primarily made from a special collection of virgin oak casks from a region off the coast of the Black Sea and another undisclosed batch of Ardbeg stock. It’s a beautiful, glimmering yellow gold and creates some watery, slow forming legs when you spin it. All the typical Ardbeg brine, creosote and campfire notes are initially present, as well. The nose opens smoky with a nice balance of sweet, Gala apples and a hint of lemon zest. Slightly sub-tropical fruits are here, too. Brine and seaweed add some bite. The opening notes on the tongue reveal earthy and salty peat, more traditional smoke and some intense, bittersweet chocolate. It’s very inviting. The finish is long and drying with the peppery heat from the oak. An additional bit of salinity and seaweed remains behind here, too. Great stuff. Overall, it’s another amazing NAS dram from Ardbeg. It lacks the super complexity of Oog-a-dal and the CorryV, but damn I’d love to turn this one into a staple in my home. The price is a bit higher than the core stuff, mostly due to the whole Feis Isle money grab...errr festival special release. It is worth the extra dough. It’s another magical dram from Ardbeg. Seek it out and enjoy everything it has to offer. You won’t be disappointed. 4.75 stars. Cheers, my friends.

Peaty. Not as balanced as Ardbeg 1O but better than Dark Cove.