When I reminded my wife today that I'd purchased this bottle two weeks ago but hadn't opened it, she made it clear that was the first thing we'd do once we got home. God, I love her! Happily, Dark Cove lives up to my expectations, and then some. It's a little different than Uigeadail, but within the Ardbeg lineup the two share the closest family resemblance. As soon as I poured it out, this scotch suffused the room with Ardbeg smoke brightened by sherry. It's rich, medicinal, with a distinctly nutty quality at times (peanut, or cashew, a fatty nut), and toasted wood chips. The palate starts out quite salty and oily, with an ideal texture and viscosity for a scotch. It makes other drams seem watery in comparison. Molasses and honey are there in spades, thick and mouth-coating. The photo finish lights up with honeyed smoke, barbecue, iodine, and that dark chocolate characteristic of the best peated whiskies. It also has a vindaloo level of spicy heat at the end, although it doesn't manifest as a burn, just a perfect level of warmth. The Dark Cove name is an apt metaphor for the scotch -- it's like ducking under a stone outcropping and huddling by a fire to shelter from a seastorm. Whether it's worth the substantial premium over Uigeadail (which is $80-85 in most liquor stores) is debatable, but it's a top-notch dram all the same.