ScotchingHard
Ardbeg An Oa
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
October 20, 2020 (edited April 5, 2021)
Bottled in 2019.
This is not an 85. This is a particular jab at Ardbeg An Oa because this is a review on this particular whisky, but this whole sycophantic relationship most reviewers have with the industry, where obviously mediocre expressions get at least an 85, is a wider problem.
When a whisky reviewer gives An Oa 85 (or better), that is a problem. I remember how happy I would be, and how hard I would have to work, to get an 85 on an assignment in school. If I turned in Ardbeg An Oa as a book report – here you go teach; I read the inside cover and made up the rest – I would not get an 85. Whisky reviewers have to be harsher (and kudos to the ones who are). If you love whisky, then you have to hate some whisky. You can’t let these whiskies with no purpose in life slide by with 85 ratings; and now we are in a market inundated with mediocre whiskies.
Let’s be honest. Nobody will ever like An Oa. If you like An Oa, you’re either lying, or you’ve tried less than 5 whiskies. If I was stuck in a bar that only served Johnnie Walker Black and An Oa, would I pick Ao Oa? Probably. But that bar does not exist. That situation does not exist. People like JW Black because it is a staple of the industry that is affordable and lends itself well to mindless drinking. Ardbeg may want to join that rank of agents of mindless consumption, but it’s not nearly there yet. It still has some real fans, and real fans know the introductory expression that this distillery deserves.
Ardbeg Ten exists. And there is no reason for this “more approachable” imposter that occupies the same price range. An Oa is not approachable for beginners. This is still a very peaty whisky. It is Ardbeg, that is too young and still in need of gestation, vacuumed out of its ex-bourbon womb prematurely like an abortion; and blended with a bunch of other casks, which together may as well have the same effect as neutral grains. And I don’t care if you’re pro-choice or pro-life – it is not my intention to start a political debate on a whisky review – but I think we can all agree that splashing a little PX sherry onto a fetus to see if it’ll taste better is poor form.
Anyways, here’s my fucking notes:
Nose: I’m not getting 85.
Palate: Not 85. Maybe a hint of zero.
Finish: Nope still not getting 85.
Score: 0 (forgettable)
How much does a bottle cost?: $50-60
How much do I think a bottle is worth?: $35
48.0
USD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@CKarmios Many reviewers on Distiller explain their rating system in their about, which in my opinion is very important. My 3 stars might be different than your 3 stars. For me, 3 stars is average, for others its 2.5 stars. I explain my rating system here: https://www.whiskybase.com/profile/slintemhath
@Slainte-Mhath Absolutely right. Jackson was inspired by Parker’s 1-100 wine rating method and immediately rushed to explain that for him a 50s score indicates the whisky “was never meant to be bottled as a single malt” (quite enjoy that description, actually), a score in the 60s would “suggest an enjoyable but unexceptional malt”, and so on. I wish more reviewers took the time to explain their range. For example Jackson’s Glenfiddich 12 is given a 77 (official Distiller gave it 86) but he does say “anything above 75 is worth tasting”.
@CKarmios The 1-100 points rating system was established in the wine world, and later adopted by many whisky reviewers (most notably Michael Jackson and his Malt Whisky Companion). It is widely used and most people define their average somewhere in the 70-80 points range (mine is 80). I think it really doesn't matter which system you use, as long as you define what your scores actually mean.
@Slainte-Mhath I just read there’s a new Ardbeg coming up...based on an accidental longer fermentation time. Seems like more Ardbeg marketing bullshit
@ScotchingHard Great review, I haven't even bothered trying this Ardbeg.
@PBMichiganWolverine @ContemplativeFox Banksy wouldn't bother with Ardbeg - not enough to parody. Now an ancient Macallan selling for multi-millions, yeah I can see him rigging a false bottom to fall off the bottle for sure :-)
@ContemplativeFox Thankfully Bansky isn’t on commission for Ardbeg. Imagine that. You buy a 40 yr old single cask Ardbeg, one of only 20 bottles. As soon as all 20 bottles are sold, they blow up in a crowd pleasing spectacle.
I kind of want to see them try that @PBMichiganWolverine They could call it Ardbeg Banksy Edition and also smash the bottle as soon as it's bought for good measure.
@1901 There is already a warning sign - it's that image of the dodgy looking character in shades :-)
@ScotchingHard can you start putting some sort of warning at the top for the weak of stomach! I trundled along entertained until presented with the disturbing imagery of a sherry-splashed aborted foetus. Last time round it was a zoo rhinoceros miscarriage on your Ardbog review. Christ sake man! There are some of us drinking here :-) Nice review though.
@ScotchingHard LOL ! You missed your calling in the Ardbeg Dept of Creative Accounting
@PBMichiganWolverine do you know how many snails you would need to season a cask with their piss? This bottle would cost thousands.
@ContemplativeFox @Soba45 i feel as if Ardbeg can price at whatever they want, and there’ll still be buyers. They can sell a 3 yr old matured in snail piss cask, and still sell out.
Yeah, the 19 is like USD300 It's fantastic, but not enough better than Uigybor Corry to make me buy a bottle. My faint hope is that over the next several years they accumulate a stock of older stuff and some affordable releases start coming out @Soba45
@ContemplativeFox It's a pity their good stuff i.e. older is so stupid expensive. Loved the 19yr but ouch on the price... and it gets more crazy from there!
Add me to your list of non-fans @Soba45 . I don't hate this, but as @Jan-Case pointed out, it costs almost as much as Uigy, which is far superior.
@ScotchingHard I could see liking blaaack, but the taste of 3 year old scotch is unmistakable.
@Jan-Case I hate that Ardbeg is trying to target the commoners. Imagine Stephen King writing a Twilight book because there might be more money in teenage vampire romance stories.
@dhsilv2 agree with drum. I like Blaaack. That’ll probably be my next Ardbeg review.
@CKarmios the scores are out of 100 feel based on experiences with school. I would love to have had a teacher that only gave grades from 85 to 95. I feel scoring whiskies that are boring a 0 is more appropriate. It says simply, you wasted my time, you wasted my money, and I never want to see you again.
What I love about this review is I could copy and paste this into a review for Blaaack or drum.
Glad to see another non-fan of this. I thought i was in the very much minority in my dislike of this. I've tried 17 Ardbegs and this was my lowest scoring. A bit higher than yours though :-)
@ScotchingHard Even if I actually liked this Ardbeg expression I can I see why this one has a lot of potential for controversy. I agree that this is young, diluted and prematurely bottled. Especially when you had other Ardbegs there is no reason to drink or buy this again - heck, it nearly has the same price as the Uigeadail - but my assessment stands that I find this one to be a good doorhandle to Islay peat. I honestly think that this whisky would probably have better acceptance without ‚Ardbeg‘ on the label. Of course Ardbeg fans will be very disappointed - but this were not the target audience that Ardbeg was aiming for with this release.
The difference with Patterson would be that he'd drink it afterwards. I've not formed an opinion on An Oa as I've yet to taste it, feeling quite content in my corner with the 10, Uggi and Corry. But, I agree with you 100% about today's rating philosophy. On a scale of 1-100, average stands at 50, not between 77-82. The problem does lie with the critics who pander to the whisky producers for the obvious reasons, but I think even more importantly it lies with us, as the audience, who would consider any whisky marked between 60-75 (are there any?) as undrinkable - again, the average stands at 50.
@WhiskeyLonghorn haha. I would start tossing whisky around like Richard Patterson.
Ahahaha! @WhiskeyLonghorn I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to defend you if you get arrested for inciting violence with that comment.
Wow, that escalated at an impressive pace.
Thanks for the laugh. We could use more of those these days. Now the real question. If said bar in your story also had Dalmore on the shelf, what would you choose?