As a relative newcomer to Scotch, I came to Uiegeadail with some trepidation. Ardbeg had been sold to me as a dram out there on the peat monster fringe, a hardcore dram for people who would just as soon add a lump of coal to a tumbler as they would ice. And the first few glasses lived up to that. Coal. Pure coal. A phenolic blast so intense that if there were any other flavors to be found, they were buried forever under unrelenting asphalt. Not my thing. I was ready to write it off, but now with half the bottle gone, and perhaps the increased volume of air mellowing the spirit a bit, my opinion has changed. I'm seeing those fruit notes starting to emerge and the coal smoke starting to settle. I was ready to give this 2 stars and move on, but it's really getting to be quite nice. I'm just not sure I want to drink half the bottle for my appreciation of the dram to improve, you know?