Behold! A new addition to the Ardbeg lineup - "Wee Beastie," a 5 year expression aged in ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry barrels/casks. The moment I received the email that this was released I immediately had some delivered, and then savored a dram of the 10 year, always a perennial favorite in this household. Let's see how the little brother stacks up...
Nose: Powerful iodine, sour lemon, custard, peat. Low on smoke and ash. After some time in the glass, the custard sweetens and the iodine notes recede. After more time, the iodine comes back in force and hides the vanilla. They take turns, it would seem.
Mouthfeel: Oily, medium body.
Palate: Strong, sweeping pepper! Light chocolate, young leather, tar, peat, and diesel fuel/motor oil (akin to Springbank, but lighter) on the back end. Decidedly on the savory end of the spectrum, very little citrus and absolutely no sherry fruit. Vanilla backbone follows from the nose.
Finish: Oak, BBQ sauce, pepper, lingering resinous peat.
Verdict: Where's the sherry? The proportion of sherry-aged liquid here has to be very, very low. Also much lower smoke and salt quotients than you might expect from Ardbeg. That said, it fills a nice slot in the lineup - it's decidedly less complex than the 10 year or any of the NAS bottles, but more muscular and powerful than An Oa. It has a great custard sweetness on the nose, and a bracing pepper element on the palate that is transparent and doesn't disguise any of the other flavors rotating around. For only 5 years old, this is good stuff. I had hoped for something like Uigeadail Jr., but it's more like An Oa after going through the school of hard knocks.
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