Ardbeg Grooves - Committee Release

Ardbeg Grooves - Committee Release, NAS, 51.6 %

There was a lot of whisky noise recently, as Ardbeg released the annual Ardbeg Day whisky. Ardbeg Day itself was held on June 2, and the theme this year was "Peat & Love". The whisky this year is called Ardbeg Grooves.

As always, the Ardbeg Day whisky is released in two variants. One for the members of the Ardbeg fan club (the Ardbeg Committee) and one lower ABV version for the general public.

The name for the Ardbeg Grooves is related to some of the casks used to mature this whisky. Some red wine casks that had been very well charred were used, and these casks had heavy grooves in the inside surface.

I have now tried the Ardbeg Grooves - Committee Release, and here are my tasting notes.

Nose: Ooh, we're in a bakery. Early morning. The first plates of today's fresh bread is coming out of the oven. Warm, rich and delicious. Swirls of light smoke and ashes linger in the air, coming from the wood fired oven. Baked apples. Assorted citrus; grilled lemons, lime juice, orange peel and mandarins. Smoky, with citrus and chocolate in short; i.e. an Ardbeg.

Taste: Big and boisterous! Full-on arrival! Very rich, albeit not all that complex, delivery of the self-same wood smoke, citrus and chocolate. Well, the chocolate notes now have an aspect of coffee beans to it as well. On subsequent sips it does come across as quite spicy and hot. Chili, schezuan peppers and hot embers.

Finish: Medium long finish. Continues much as it started. No further development or complexity really. But it remains pleasant throughout.

Comments: Well, no reason to get your panties in a bunch, but well worth a try. It is a decent dram. Cheers!

Score (86/100)

PS! I'll be back with tasting notes on the regular release in a few days.

Sláinte! - Thomas