I went to the Ardbeg release party for their An Oa bottling last year, and it was a BLAST. I had a ton of fun, and I came away with nothing but positive vibes and delicious tastes of fantastic whiskey.
Well, this year's Ardbeg Day, part of Feis Ile, came today and I was lucky enough to be in attendance. At Jack Rose Saloon in Adams Morgan, a large crowd came together to celebrate Ardbeg whiskey, and specifically their new Grooves bottling for 2018.
At the door of the Ardbeg event, you are given one crystal and one rock - both of which are in keeping with the 1960s theme of the party, a time when New Age philosophy and pet rocks were all the rage - and you enter the small upstairs back room at Jack Rose.
You can trade the crystal for a dram of the new Grooves whiskey, which is exceptional. Non-chill-filtered, bottled at 46%, distilled from heavily re-charred French red wine oak, the nose starts simple and Ardbegian, but as it ages in the glass it becomes exceptionally complex.
I found tar, brine, rich candied orange peel, smoked paprika, smoked white pepper, maybe ash and caramelized sugar. Seaweed? Sherry fruit? It's very rich, distinctively Ardbeg, but also simultaneously easier to approach (somewhat less peat and smoke) and harder to define (the fruit and tar and spice).
The taste matched the nose - Grooves brought blackened wine (charred grapes and wood ash), bright tropical fruit mixed with a deep spice influence (chili powder and ... baked apples?), the traditional Ardbeg BBQ flavors (savory ribs in a sweet sauce), with some light tobacco and leather elements.
The finish is strong, and lingers long: spices and spices and spices, over an underpinning of oak and ash. Very delectable - I ordered a bottle and can't wait to open it.
In addition to the Grooves release, they had a station where you could drink your fill of the four core expressions - An Oa, Ten Year, Uigeadail, and Corryvreckan. I had all four, more than once, and they all lived up to my fantastic memories. I won't review all four here, but I'll say that the Ten Year was the surprise winner for most people I witnessed - it really hits you in the face with the peat and the smoke and the malt underpinnings.
Corryvreckan remained exceedingly rich and complex and full of endless variety; Uigeadail remains my favorite Ardbeg expression, with a sweet and savory BBQ ribs flavor in every corner; and An Oa is still a delectable, perhaps-more-approachable offering of equal complexity.
If you traded in your pet rock, Jack Rose also offered a cocktail, which featured Ardbeg Ten, Aperol, Campari, an Amaro, pina shrubs, passionfruit, with a lemon twist. It was ... unusual, but tasty. The smoke definitely tried to overpower the amari, but couldn't quite accomplish it. The Aperol and Campari were strong enough to resist the Scotch, and the fruit bound them all together. It was an interesting drink.
Ardbeg continues to throw top-notch events in Washington DC, and I continue to enjoy them. Kudos to Ace Liquors on New Mexico Ave NW, who offered discounted prices on Grooves and other Ardbeg expressions, including limited releases from the past. I ordered from them and was happy to do so. Long Live Ardbeg!
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