Ardbeg Kelpie

Sweet & salty

This is a beautiful campfire on an islay beach with stewed apples in the background. So clean so delicious. With a lingering sugary sweetness and a clean finish.

The 2015 Perpetuum was solid. I don't think I'll ever get a crack at the Dark Cove. But I did stumble upon the 2017 release--this Kelpie. I think I severely overpaid for this one; in fact, I know I did. But it in 2020, when I got it, I had to pay if I wanted to play. And pay I did. I'll try not to let cost impact the score too much since I paid more than double what I imagine original retail was. Let's check it out. Nose: Campfire smoke, peat, iodine, sea salt, brine. Early on, there's some dark fruit. Blueberry, plum, and pomegranate juice. This replaced by pierogi, smoked sausage, bacon, and brisket in time. Tennis ball. Lemon and grapefruit. Vanilla custard. Not sure it it's the leaves or something else in the air, but there's a quality of autumn air here. Especially when you light a fire on an October evening. Black pepper and cinnamon. Plenty of oak in the background. Awesome. Palate: More of the campfire smoke hits heavy. The medicinal notes are toned down in favor of some sweeter notes. Vanilla, dark chocolate, and Golden Teddy Graham's. Some seaweed and sea salt. Briny notes are also less prominent than on the nose. The smoked brisket translates from the nose. As do the blueberry and pomegranate, now with blackberry and raspberry. Lemon and grapefruit. Black and red pepper. Amazing. Finish: First it's campfire smoke, followed by black pepper and cinnamon. Black bean red pepper chili. Peat, citrus, and dark chocolate notes complete a medium-long finish. Nice way to end it. I promised not to let cost compromise my rating since I showed up to the party so late with this one. I'm glad I shelled out for it, even if $200 is a ridiculous price. This one definitely bests the Perpetuum head-to-head. It's got the balance, depth, and personality of any great Islay, while simultaneously presenting a unique profile. 4.75. Wish I knew to buy this up when it was released. If I'm lucky, this store will still have one more for me--and of course, it'll be the same price. Another $200 purchase for something that probably debuted sub-$200. Yet, for this one, I'd say money well spent.

Bonfire at the beach. Smokey. Briny. Sweet. Chocolate notes. Rubber finish with long burn. Delicious.

Any whisky enthusiast that has an Instagram account has at least seen this bottle a couple hundred times. And i got to say that every special edition from Ardbeg tends to go quickly off the shelves and starts to be available for an absurd price on secondary markets. Having said that, i was eager to try "Kelpie" for a long time. As always, some lovely story behind it all. A Kelpie is a mythological scottish water spirit, that resides in lochs, that can take any form, usually a Horse, but can even have a human shape. If the Kelpie gets a human form, some say the horshoe is still on its feet. The most famous Kelpie is the Loch Ness monster; so, everything about this tale is amazing. Lets talk about the whisky. Bottled at standard Ardbeg strength, 46%abv, non-chill filthered, matured in "Black Sea" oak casks from Russia, and bourbon casks. Black sea oak is made from a tree called Quercus Hartwissiana, that grows near the Black sea. Pretty interesting stuff. On the nose, it is a little strange. Starts very poorly, but grows into a nice aroma. Right from the start, you typical Ardbeg peat, but more citric and mossy. There is some dark chocolate fudge under the very medicinal peat. Oily on the nose, not something i usually find. Its like nosing a powerful mint hard candy. After 3 minutes, it released some pork and BBQ. It gets better, since this mint / citric aroma was not very appealing, but after 5 minutes, it is all about chocolate brownies and creamy vanilla. After a first sip, the nose became a dessert. Lots of chocolate, pears, creamy vanilla. Having more sips, just made it sweeter: a vanilla outburst, brownies, butter, a bakery. I have no idea where all this came from, specially when it was so different the first minutes. On the palate it is very easy drinkable, but it just follows one direction. It feels like a soft wine with an Ardbeg profile. First sip is peaty, but then it changes to a vanilla ice cream, with a hint of pepper. Vanilla gets stronger as you take more sips, maybe some prunes are present. Aftertaste is not from Ardbeg. A beautiful chocolate cake. Peat is tamed in a good way. You are not really overwhelmed by the peat, but somehow your lips are scorched after 30 seconds by a salt and ginger combo. It is all about creamy vanilla, moss and dim smokiness. I really have no idea why my mouth is peated after a while, since you don't really feel it when it should be felt... maybe is a peaty spirit that appeared out of nowhere, a proper kelpie. Overall, this is not your normal Ardbeg, and definitively not a normal dram. What i have described here is a crazy unfolding of aromas and flavors in a weird but not off-putting way. My score is a fair 85 over 100, and i encourage you to try it, to experience the strange things this whisky has for you. Sláinte!

Distiller Review No. 400 Back in February of this year I stopped into a local liquor store on the way home from work. Like most of the local shops everything is overpriced. I check out the clearance aisle and what do I see? Two bottle of the Kelpie with no price listed. On a whim I decide to ask what the price is, fully expecting a huge markup. The clerk can’t find it in the system, so he calls the owner, $69.99 says the owner. I can hardly contain my excitement as I say, “Well, I’ll take both bottles”. I’ve been saving this bottle for a special occasion. I guess watching my Seahawks on MNF and review no. 400 will have to do. Not exactly what I have come to expect from an Ardbeg. Vanilla, ocean breeze, salty earth, and muted peat on the nose. The palate is sweet and oily with vanilla, umami, pepper and chai tea. The finish is long and I really like the interplay of the peppery notes with the sweet chai tea notes. Worth the wait? Definite yes. Not my favorite Ardbeg, but very good.

This is the 2017 Ardbeg Day release. There is a rumor that whatever virgin black magic black sea cask this Ardbeg was aged in made the whisky “too intense,” so it had to be blended with some Ardbeg Ten. This is what is wrong with the whisky industry currently! Can’t even let the balls hang out a little on a special yearly limited release. Shame. The Kelpie is like an Ardbeg doing a good impression of a Port Charlotte or Octomore. It is so salty, peppery, and savory. It is the most maritime Ardbeg Day that I can remember, but it is also fungal and farmy. The name Kelpie technically refers to a mythological sea demon, but I’m sure the folks at Ardbeg also realize that this shit tastes like sea plants. Brown, briny, slightly sweetened, very umami, seaweed and kelp, washed onto a mushroom farm. I’m sad if there is an uncensored version of this whisky that was not allowed to hit the market (perhaps the committee release is what I dream of? Or is it just an unwatered version of the standard release?)). Even so, this is my favorite Ardbeg Day release since 2013’s Ardbog, including this year’s rather impressive Blaaack. What holds this back is a metallic note that plagues many of today’s Ardbegs and an unfulfilling glimpse into a truly spectacular whisky that Ardbeg, before it needed to worry about a worldwide fandom, would have no problem in seeing through. Score: * (unforgettably good) How much does a bottle cost?: $100-130 if you can still find it at retail. Now up to $200 on secondary. How much do I think a bottle is worth?: $130

Peeted and Smokey...but a glorious sip

Marine is marine, no doubt about it, and in this the kelpie could well represent it. Indeed, considering how deep and thick is the smell, the desire to be dragged into the glass like the Scottish demon does to its victims is well on spot. Cloves, very intense, are propped up on a blanket of acrid and brackish smoke, smoked herring and tar, from which you can discern an apple pie with cream that resists strenuously to this assault, like a victim of the lake demon. Ardbeg do not break even with the wood of the Dead Sea! The peat ocean soup ignites and burns in the mouth, with the smoke here more meaty that thins out leaving more space for the sweet soul of the whisky, caramelized and sugary with a delicate supply of apple. Pepper olives stuffed with licorice, medicinal touch in the background. A contrast that confuses and even stuns, layered and unusual: Ardbeg less Ardbeg than usual but very Ardbeg. Clear, isn't it? The finish is long, very, of ash and algae, dried fish and caramel, pepper. I have to sya that they the name they chose is just perfect. It is not a balanced but certainly complex whisky, enthralling and fun, with moments of sincere bewilderment. An experiential drink, like not many others can give you.

I sat down to do a re-review of this Ardbeg that I tasted over 2 years ago, hoping that I would find something new, something previously undiscovered. The previous review was from a sample, this was not a bottle that has been open 2+ years. But no, it’s the same amazingness as before. The nose is incredible and unique for an Ardbeg in that the sweetness carries it almost as much as the smoke does. The palate, while not too complex is very satisfying. I will say that I did get a bit of a rubbery note this time that I did not get before, not that that’s a bad thing. Still amazing, still a 4.5 For further details, see my published works on this subject...just look up my last review lol. Cheers.