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21st August 2017 |
Review of
the smoky, sweet Ardbeg An Oa the first
new addition to the Islay distillery's
core range in 10 years.
 The
Ardbeg fans amongst you will be pleased
to hear that the Islay distillery today
announced the forthcoming release of a
new addition to their core range, Ardbeg
An Oa (pronounced "an oh").
Ardbeg An Oa takes its name from Islay’s
Mull of Oa which is located at at the
Island’s southernmost point and is the
creation of Ardbeg’s Director of
Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky
Stocks Dr Bill Lumsden.
To create the new whisky Dr Bill brought
together, or I should say gathered
together, a vatting of whiskies from
several cask types - including; sweet
Pedro Ximenez; spicy Virgin charred oak;
and American ex-bourbon casks, amongst
others. They were vatted together in
Ardbeg's new bespoke Gathering Room
where lies the new vast Gathering Vat
which was specially made from French oak
to create the new Ardbeg An Oa
expression.
Ardbeg tell me that the different layers
of whisky slowly mellow together within;
the richness of spirit matured in Pedro
Ximénes casks, the spice of whisky aged
in virgin oak, and all the hallmark
intensity of Ardbeg matured in
ex-bourbon barrels. Culminating in an
untamed single malt far more complex and
rounded than the sum of its parts.
Dr Bill Lumsden commented on his latest
creation, saying: "There is a
wonderfully Ardbeggian magic to The
Gathering Room, where the parcels
married together in this whisky merge
over time, to reach new levels of
complexity. Ardbeg An Oa’s rounded and
subtly smoky aromas reflect all the
contrasts of the Mull of Oa, with notes
of creamy toffee, aniseed, dates and
hints of peach and banana. The whisky’s
smooth, creamy texture leads to a huge
syrupy sweetness on the palate, as milk
chocolate, orange and smoky tea leaves
mingle with sweet spices, cigar smoke
and – unusually – grilled artichokes,
before a lingering, seductive and smoky
finish. It is years since the world’s
smokiest, peatiest Islay malt added to
its core range. We hope smoky malt
whisky fans everywhere will be drawn to
Ardbeg An Oa."
Ardbeg An Oa is non-chill filtered and
bottled at ABV 46.6%, it has an RRP
£49.00, it will be available in
specialist online whisky shops such as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop and
Master of Malt
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Ardbeg An Oa Review
|
Review added 29th
September 2017.
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose: A lovely refined sweet peat
smoke infused with liquorice tinged
vanilla toffee and a very gentle fruity
mix of orange, lemon and lime.
Taste: A stunning silky smooth
delivery with dark molasses sugars
coating every corner of the mouth which
is kept from overpowering by a touch of
dark chocolate, all brushed with some
lovely Ardbeg, orange and liquorice
infused, peat smoke.
Finish: Deliciously long,
delicate smoke laced liquorice and
treacle toffee fades leaving a gentle
nuttiness and mildly drying oak spice.
Comment: An outstanding and very welcome addition to the
Ardbeg core range, even by Ardbeg's
standards it is top class. It isn't an
Ardbeg peat monster, it is a more
refined Ardbeg which lets the casks that
created it have their say but there is
still enough Ardbeg peat smoke here to
put a smile on the face of the most devoted Ardbegian's.
SMW Score 94/100
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