Ardbeg Auriverdes

Admittedly this is the least interesting to me of the gimmicks typical of these releases. It was released in a year the World Cup was being held, and that was occurring in Brazil so they chose their colors to give the name. They did some charring to the lids of the casks rather than the whole thing to give some flavor difference. So even though the theme isn’t terribly appealing, with how much I liked Alligator, I am intrigued.

Ardbeg Auriverdes, Islay Single Malt, 49.9% ABV

Minutia: Bottled in 2014 after being matured in ex-Bourbon casks with toasted lids. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Chestnut Oloroso Sherry, 1.2.

Nose: Some smoke, vanilla extract.

Taste: Light, fruity smoke, earthy, wood, sweet.

Finish: Long. Raspberry, smoke, pepper, vanilla.

Rather impressive what a difference the lids seem to have made relative to the 10. Same score, but I think I liked it better than the Ardbog due to the lighter, fruitier qualities to the smoke. Probably a toss-up between those based on mood/setting/whatever.

Score: 87

Ardbeg Ardbog

From the moment I heard of this one I found the name amusing enough to want to try it. I wonder if it lives up to its name and packaging?

Ardbeg Ardbog, Islay Single Malt, 52.1% ABV

Minutia: Bottled in 2013 after maturation in ex-Bourbon and Manzanilla Sherry casks, with an age statement on the bottle of 10.

Color: Old oak, 1.8.

Nose: Smoke, dark fruit, gum.

Taste: Tart, fruity, wine, smoke, burnt sugar.

Finish: Coffee, chocolate, caramel, smoke. Long.

So, this doesn’t follow the Day as well as that followed the Alligator, but I still like it quite a bit. It’s not something I’m going to endeavor to keep around as long as possible or seek out anymore, but I’ll turn to it when I’m looking for something substantial.

Score: 87

Ardbeg Day

I wouldn’t envy any whisky that has to follow Alligator, so hopefully being adjacent to that doesn’t hurt this one too much. There’s nothing terribly “special” about this release other than being the inaugural one, but it is a bit of a departure from what they regularly make in that it is a marriage of two styles of Ardbeg, though they don’t disclose what that entails.

Ardbeg Day, Islay Single Malt, 56.7% ABV

Minutia: Matured for 8-12 years in ex-Bourbon casks, the two styles spent an additional six months together in refill Sherry butts which previously held Uigeadail and bottled in February 2012. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Russet muscat, 1.3.

Nose: Smoky, toffee, pear, lime.

Taste: Peat, sweet char.

Finish: Bready, peppery. Long.

Another really good dram that isn’t quite worth what it costs to acquire today, but it doesn’t upset you to have paid that much. This followed the Alligator very well and I liked it nearly as much.

Score: 92

Ardbeg Alligator

The auction ended up messing up and tricking me into bidding on (and ultimately winning) two bottles of this rather than the one I needed, so the other one will be kept closed for a while, but this one is open for enjoyment and now review. While this isn’t technically an Ardbeg Day release, I’m reviewing it now as it was the annual special release the year before they formally started that series. At the very least, the cask situation is interesting. Some of the maturation in the batch was done in casks so heavily charred that the wood begins to resemble the hide of an alligator, thus the nickname for that level of char and where Ardbeg got their name for this release. 

Ardbeg Alligator, Islay Single Malt, 51.2% ABV

Minutia: Matured for about 10 years in virgin oak casks charred as described above and married with the standard 10 year ex-Bourbon casks for about a year before bottling in 2011. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn. 

Color: Mahogany, 1.6.

Nose: Sharp smoke, meat/barbecue, white chocolate.

Taste: Smoke, leather, soy-like salt, char, pepper.

Finish: Chocolate, coffee, smoke, cigar, ginger. Long.

All I can say is that after trying this I’m glad I accidentally bought that second one because I so thoroughly enjoyed this I think I’ll actually want that down the line. There’s something about this that just ticks every box I have. What a hell of a way to start this out.

Score: 96

Talisker Skye

I remember when I learned about this years ago thinking it would be neat to try another Talisker since I really enjoyed the 10, but as far as I know it wasn’t ever properly available here in the states so I just kind of forgot about it. Then when ordering from the UK I saw they had a mini available and added it to the cart. 

Talisker Skye, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV

Minutia: No idea about what’s involved cask/age-wise unfortunately. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Burnished, 1.1.

Nose: Some smoke, burnt sugar.

Taste: Smoke, salt, wood.

Finish: Pepper (smoked), bitter oak, taste like after having smoked a cigar/pipe (pleasant enough, not ashy).

Not as good as the 10 (and a big dropoff from the 25 and 30 I recently reviewed), but it’s close enough. I’m not sure of the price of this as it’s not sold in my market, but this could probably satisfy the same itch the 10 would if it’s a bit less expensive.

Score: 84

Musical Evocation: Shireen – “UMAI”