Last year for Ardbeg Day I reviewed all of them through the release for that year, Blaaack. Unfortunately I hadn’t been lucky enough to find the Committee Releases so those reviews were all of the standard 46% release (except the ones that didn’t get two versions). Since then I’ve acquired a couple samples of CR bottles, as well as managed to find a bottle of one, so this year I’m going to review those (with side by side notes with the 46% version), the Committee Release from earlier this year - Arrrrrrrdbeg!, and my Ardbeg Day solera bottle (equal parts of each release from Alligator forward, this year’s review going up through Blaaack with a year marrying in the bottle). Anyway, here’s the review of the CR of Blaaack, a bottle of which was somehow still for sale a couple months ago at MSRP..
Ardbeg Blaaack Committee Release, Islay Single Malt, 50.7% ABV
Minutia: Matured for some duration of time in pinot noir casks from New Zealand, bottled in 2020. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Nose: Fruit, molasses, dunnage, smoke. Birght and rich notes which flicker away before I can place them. The standard release is a bit mustier and without those fleeting notes.
Taste: Vegetal, oaky, earthy. The standard release is quite the same, though thinner.
Finish: Vegetal, heat. Minty feeling to it. Long. Standard release Is more tannic and lacks that minty feel on the breath.
It’s a step up, but not as large of one as I was hoping. I still like it a good deal, however.
Score: 90
Musical Evocation: Type O Negative – "Black No.1 (Little Miss Scare-All)"
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