Tasting 5 Ardbeg Uigeadails

Ardbeg has 2 annual CS standards called Corryvreckan and Uigeadail, of which Uigeadail is the partially sherried one. I'll try five different vintages of this in this session. Says to have a good amount of older sherried casks in the mix.





Ardbeg NAS 54.2% OB Uigeadail 2007

The color is golden brown. It smells of leather, tarry, rope, burnt oak, butter, salt, fried bacon, burnt hair, ammonium, tannins, fuel. The taste is sweet, light, bitter, needs some water to open up. With added water it turns rich, complex, oloroso sherry, dry sherry, cinnamon, orange zest, all those nice sherried flavors together with some sweet honey and peat creates a magnificent malt in my opinion. Not that raw peatiness one finds in the Corryvreckan, but more a backdrop to the excellent sherry notes. If you got any older bottlings of this series, hold on to them. I wonder how this will be if given a couple decades in a bottle.

Old sherried Ardbeg dominates this whisky: 8


Ardbeg NAS 54.2% OB Uigeadail 2006

I believe this was the third year of Uigeadail at Ardbeg. Golden amber color, a bit lighter than the 2007. It smells of rich cinnamon, honey, peat, cream sherry, fried bacon, rubber. The taste is sweet, licorice, honey, peppery, chili, cinnamon, earthy, smoked, dried fish. Not as rich, coastal or as sherried as the Uigeadail, just not as good a batch in my opinion.

A lightweighter: 6


Ardbeg NAS 54.2% OB Uigeadail 2008

Golden brown color on this one. It smells of peat, smoke, red bell peppers, dried paprika, fuel, chili oil, dark chocolate, unripe apples, butter, garlic, smoke, onions, sweet licorice. The taste is sweet, oaky, white grapes, vanilla, cinnamon, caramel, red onions, leather, rubber, tarry. A bit of water is added. Now it turns sweeter, more caramel, more butter, stewed onions, mouthwatering.

Another great Uigeadail: 8


Ardbeg NAS 54.2% OB Uigeadail 2003 Importatto Da Velier, Genoa

One of the first Uigeadails this, I think. The color is deep amber. It smells of peat, sweet, burn oak, sulphur, more classic sherry notes, some heather, flora, flower, butterscotch, licorice, dry sherry, vanilla, aniseed, spearmint, just a perfect nose. The taste is sweet, caramel, cinnamon, honey, nougat, spicy, dark chocolate, very sweet. The finish is long, peaty, sherried, oily, burnt, honey. A lot of honey notes on the finish.

As often, the first batches seems to have been some of the best: 8.5


Ardbeg NAS 54.2% OB Uigeadail 2010

Ending this session with one of the more recent versions. Lets hope they keep up the good work at Ardbeg. Dark amber color. It smells dry, salty, smoked salmon, butter, roasted chicken skin, oloroso sherry, cinnamon, orange liqueur, sweet onions, biscuits, oat meal. The taste is leather, oloroso, butter, creamy, peat, smoke, tarry, ashy, sawdust, white wine, porter ale. The finish is peppery, roast-meat-like, tannic. I think this is another great sherried whisky.

One to get before it becomes as pricy as the '06 and '07: 8



Next tasting: Laphroaig Distillery