Ardbeg Wee Beastie

A good young Ardbeg. Much better on the palate than on the nose.

47.4% abv, Peated and cheap. Best combo ever

This is my first taste of any big single malt scotch. The nose gave me maple, citrus, and that medicine smell. Taste was pepper heat, citrus, and some cut grass. I don’t have anything to compare this to, so more single malt is needed. Where do I go from here?

Remember as a kid having your first school ground fight? Usually some bully challenges you, and to save face or impress a girl, you accept an after school brawl? If you were like me ...top math and science student, but barely topping 100lb and 5’4” as an 8th grader, your top math or science didn’t suddenly make you a black belt in jujitsu. So, you’d go in knowing it’ll be bad. Maybe a black eye. Maybe a split lip. But it’ll be just one hit, and once you fall to the ground, it’s over. Not quite. You see, the other guy is usually an asshole. Probably takes his fighting points from watching WWF, not some gentlemanly fight like fencing. It’s much worse than you expected. It’s a hard punch to the face, followed by him sitting on you and beating you to a pulp till that cute girl ( the source of all this) pulls him off you. Yeah...I felt like that while having this Ardbeg. I knew a 5 yr Ardbeg will be bruising. It’ll be young and brash. But...it’s an Ardbeg, so I’ll like it. Maybe the first sip will be harsh, but then it’ll be fine. Nooooo. This Ardbeg is sitting on you, pounding your taste buds till it goes numb. I never was a masochistic guy, but if I were, this is a drink to have with butt cheek showing leather attire, spiked collars and some madame you’ve hired for $500 to whip you as you’re tied to a pole. It’s a brute. I’m getting brine and smoke aroma, except it’s amped up a lot. Palette is an onslaught of medicinal peat. Long finish. There’s no two ways about this. Either you’ll like it (4 + stars) or it’ll be like taking a school yard pounding. If anyone wants samples...let me know...not sure I can take more beatings from this guy anymore... Update June 2020: I very much stand corrected. Once the bottle got some air, the oxidation really subdued the heat. Still not at the level of 10, but much better than their core NAS releases.