LeeEvolved
Ardbeg An Oa
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
February 3, 2018 (edited October 21, 2024)
This is the newest NAS in Ardbeg’s stable: An Oa (pronounced ahn-oh). This is also something new when it comes to Ardbeg production- Solera vatting. This whisky is made up of undisclosed aged whisky from PX cask, ex-bourbon cask and new virgin oak casks. It is collected in a Solera vat before bottling which allows everything to just mingle together while new stock is added constantly as product is pulled for bottling. It is advertised as non-chill filtered and I don’t see any info on coloring (which I suspect may be added due to the use of the solera vat, in order to make a consistently colored product.)
It’s bottled at a robust 46.6% ABV and is a typical light gold in the glass.
The nose starts out Ardbeg-y enough: smoldering campfire, brine, toffee and oak barrel but if you give it some time you begin to pick up some vine-ripened fruits and some mint qualities.
The palate is creamy, but not as deep as the CorryV or the Uggi. There’s a waxy, tea leaf note that sticks to the tongue before eventually yielding to chocolaty smoke and wood. The faintest lemon zest and spearmint make an appearance mid sip but at no point does it ruin the mouthfeel.
The finish is medium length with a heavy pepper and spice presence that ultimately ends with fading, Ardbeg smoke.
Overall, I rather enjoyed this NAS offering. It appears as though they are trying to force some complexity into the younger stock by using the Solera vat, though. Some people may consider that cheating or compensating, and I suppose it is. I’ve heard rumors this may lead to the demise of the 10 year old and I’m going out on a limb here and saying I’d be okay with that so long as I can still get the Corryvreckan or Uigeadail when I want those deep, rich Ardbeg experiences. It’s a few bucks more than the 10, which is a bit sad, but it does offer a slight variation on that and I think I prefer this to the experimental stuff like the Dark Cove, as well. I could see this becoming a staple in my home bar. Good stuff. 4 stars. Cheers, my friends.
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@PBMichiganWolverine - between you and @Joe_C talking about and ranking Black Arts so highly I think I need to focus my attention on a bottle. Which one do you think I should go after first?
The grooves sounds interesting. I loved the Kilchoman Red Wine cask so I'm expecting great things on Ardbeg day!
@Richard-ModernDrinking that will be interesting! Wondering if the sooty peat goes well with charred wine cask. The Black Arts had peat /wine cask combo, I think (??), and those were amazing
@PBMichiganWolverine This year's Ardbeg Day release is Grooves and was matured in "intensely charred wine casks"
@Rick_M - stop using smarts to explain things to me. The next thing I know is you’re gonna tell me that there isn’t chicken in my can of Chicken of the Sea brand tuna. Is it chicken, or fish? Signed, Jessica Simpson ;)
After @LeeEvolved is done with the tasting journey ( 2 more rounds, so about 8 months to go), I’m thinking of roping him into starting a sub-$10 bottom shelf tasting journey. 😊
@LeeEvolved - Previously, “vatted malt” was the term used to describe whisky from “Scotland” made from 100% malted barley, but from “two” different distilleries. The Scottish whisky regulators changed the term to “blended malt.” This is not to be confused with the “Scottish” term for “blended whisky,” which is composed of one or more “single malts” mixed with one or more “single grains,” regardless of the number of distilleries involved. If you look at the Ardbeg An Oa bottle, it calls itself “single malt,” which means from a single distillery and one or more whiskies of “100% malted barley” (combined, mixed, vatted, or assembled) to arrive at the final product. To make matters worst, terminology changes from country to country. Of course, the Distiller app has some nice articles to help you keep all of these terms straight. Signed: Mona Lisa Vito :)
@Rick_M - so, after a bit more research it appears the An Oa is a vatted whisky and does not use a solera tun. “Vatted” is apparently a fancy new term for blend. Hmm, is the wordplay used here by Ardbeg worrisome? All that said, @On_The_Moors, this is easily worth the $60 price tag and once I get settled from my crazy tasting journey this will be a staple in my home.
Great review. Been gun shy on this one but may now have to give it a shot. Love the Corryvreckan most but the price point on An Oa is so tasty.
@LeeEvolved, Hi Lee, I know Glenfiddich uses a solera vattng process, just never read anything from Ardbeg claiming similar. If true, I’d like to know more.
Huh? So what the fnark is a "gathering vat" that makes it any different to a marrying vat then? Next they'll be advertising that it's "aged in oak".
@Rick_M - so basically what that means is it’s just a calculated blend? That seems like fancy wordplay to me. Lol
Ardbeg talks about this being a bespoke vatted malt. Nothing about a solera.
It will be interesting to see how this evolves over time. Unlike Glenfiddich's pseudo-solera process, this is one is using NAS peaty whisky, so the older trace percentages could have a more unusual softening effect as time passes and the vat develops. The "solera" process as used in whisky doesn't seem like a cheat to me so much as a sort of automatic blending-by-proxy.
Thanks guys, I will see if I can get some info out of Lumsden next week :)
@Dreaming-of-Islay maybe also if they plan on experimenting with other wood? They did the Crimean one for Kelpie, wondering what else they have in mind for the next Ardbeg Days
@Dreaming-of-Islay I’d like to know if they are indeed phasing out the 10. Also if there are any plans for a new age statement in their core range, like a 15 or an 18. Probably not, but it never hurts to ask
This was a brilliant move by Ardbeg. It’s meant for folks that find 10 and Corry to peaty and smoky, so dialed down a tad bit.
Going to a Committee tasting event here in Miami hosted by Lumsden himself to promote An Oa -- any questions anyone would be interested in me asking?
Excited to hear such good as things about An Oa. I poured out my samples of theGlen Spey yesterday, booorrriiinnngg!