"Arrrrrrrdbeg!" is Ardbeg's special yearly committee release for 2021, to celebrate the retirement of distillery manager Mickey Heads. Ardbeg styles this his "special bottle of grog," and it's been matured entirely for XXX? years in ex-rye barrels. That's right - amid all of the aged Ardbeg releases lately, this is a No Age Statement release. This comes in at a very nice 51.8% ABV. Let's see how the typical Ardbeg profile fares when subjected to all-rye treatment...
Nose: Definitely some light rye presence here, on initial nosing. Peat and smoke dominate, of course, but both are soft. And then what I think is rye bread, soft mushy banana, unripe watermelon, and red licorice. The longer you let the glass sit, the more fruit comes forward and peat fades back. It's quite fruity, especially with a little water.
Mouthfeel: Extremely thick and viscous.
Palate: What a powerful palate, and how typically Ardbegian: gunpowder, oak, smoke, peat, anise, banana, rye (?), ash, and orchard fruit.
Finish: Typically long Ardbeg finish - smoke, oak, and banana dominate. Lasts for ages, remnants laying across your tongue.
Verdict: Confession time - I don't adore rye whiskey. And so you might predict that an entirely rye-matured Scotch might not be my favorite either... and you'd be right, in that I like other Ardbeg expression more than this, especially among their yearly releases (Blaaack ... Kelpie ... Galileo ... Grooves). But there are expressions I like less than this, too (Auriverdes ... Drum ... Day ... Dark Cove). So it's firmly in the middle somewhere. It's quite spicy, especially with the anise, and the banana leaves a strong footprint all over the place. The fruit is especially strong on the nose, which is quite nice. This is an interesting dram, even if not particularly successful in its mission. Worth exploring if you find a bottle.
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