Established in 1815, Ardbeg is one of the three classic Islay distilleries (others are Laphroaig and Lagavulin) producing what I would call medicinal tasting peated whiskies. All of their whiskies are peated to around 55PPM slightly higher than Laphroaig and Lagavulin.
Ardbeg tend to go slightly overboard with some of their whisky names and these ones are no exception!
A Kelpie is a water spirit living in the lochs and pools of Scotland. It can shift its shape but is usually seen as a horse. This whisky has been matured in a mixture of ex-Bourbon and virgin Black Sea oak casks, the latter sourced from Russia. Ardbeg's marketing department went overboard with the promotion including a funny video on how to catch a Kelpie....
Corryvreckan is a little easier to understand - it's the name of a whirlpool, one of the largest in the world, which forms in the Gulf of Corryvreckan, a narrow strait between the islands of Jura and Scarba off Scotland's west coast. But the marketing video is equally as silly as the Kelpie one!
I think the marketing department were all on holiday when it came to Uigeadail, there's no marketing video that I can find and the name is simply that of the nearby Loch where Ardbeg sources it's water for the distillery. The word itself means dark and mysterious.
Let's see what the three dram's offer:
Ardbeg tend to go slightly overboard with some of their whisky names and these ones are no exception!
A Kelpie is a water spirit living in the lochs and pools of Scotland. It can shift its shape but is usually seen as a horse. This whisky has been matured in a mixture of ex-Bourbon and virgin Black Sea oak casks, the latter sourced from Russia. Ardbeg's marketing department went overboard with the promotion including a funny video on how to catch a Kelpie....
Corryvreckan is a little easier to understand - it's the name of a whirlpool, one of the largest in the world, which forms in the Gulf of Corryvreckan, a narrow strait between the islands of Jura and Scarba off Scotland's west coast. But the marketing video is equally as silly as the Kelpie one!
I think the marketing department were all on holiday when it came to Uigeadail, there's no marketing video that I can find and the name is simply that of the nearby Loch where Ardbeg sources it's water for the distillery. The word itself means dark and mysterious.
Let's see what the three dram's offer:
| Dram | Kelpie | Corryvreckan | Uigeadail |
| Characteristics | 46% ABV, NCF | 57.1% ABV, Non-coloured, NCF | 54.2% ABV, Non-coloured, NCF |
| Distillery info | Nose: A wonderful, intense, ‘dancing’ nose, with lots of different, intertwined aromas – powerful, oily peat, dark chocolate, smoked fish, hints of seaweed, and a curious, sharp herbal note. Waves of spicy, black pepper. A splash of water brings forth some classic Ardbeg notes, such as creamy coffee, smoked fudge and pine resin. Even some hints of smoked coconut. Taste: A peppery mouthfeel is followed by a crescendo of rich flavours. Treacle toffee, Turkish coffee, smoky bacon and lots of dark, dark chocolate. A curious burst of peachy, estery fruit, hickory wood, clove oil and a suggestion of black olives on the aftertaste. Finish: Seemingly lasting forever, with deep, deep, almost subterranean flavours of clove, tar and rich toffee. | Aroma: Heady, intense and powerful - tarry ropes, creosote and linseed oil. A collision of waxy dark chocolate, warm blackcurrants and muscovado sugar, a burst of plump cherries and earthy pine needles. From salty seasoning comes a briny character with tangy crisp seaweed and smoky bacon with hints of sweet vanilla, spicy cloves and blueberries. Then menthol, treacle and chilli sauce. Taste: Deep, peppery and chewy, bombarding the tongue. Chewy peppered steak soaked in pepper sauce with the tang of crispy seaweed. Black tarry espresso coffee that coats the palate with rich melted dark fruits (blackcurrants, blueberries and cherries) and bitter almonds. As the taste soaks in deeper, star anise and hickory dry out the palate before a surprise of chalky effervescent violets fizz to the surface. Finish: Long, deep and remaining powerful into the finish with black tarry coffee, chocolate coated cherries and hot pepper sauce. | Aroma: Rich and weighty with heady and smoky aromatics. At full strength, the initial aroma is a beguiling mix of warm Christmas cake, walnut oil and parma violets fused with fresh ocean spice, cedar and pine needles falling from the Christmas tree. A smouldering coal fire and the scent of well-oiled leather brings warmth. The sweetness of treacle toffees and chocolate-coated raisins emerge through the smoke. With water, the deep smokiness increases in intensity, reminiscent of a fired Christmas pudding. Rich flowering currants and warm baked banana and walnut bread are served with simmering mocha espresso. Taste: An intriguing balance between sweet, spicy and deep smoky flavours. The flavour is initially sweet. A burst of winter spices sets off a smoky-spicy explosion countered by a sumptuous mid-palate of honey glazed smoked food and chewy treacle. Finish: Amazingly long and chewy with lingering raisiny, deep mocha tones and rich aromatic smoke into the perfectly integrated finish. |
| My thoughts: | |||
| Appearance |  | ||
| A pale gold colour, swirls lead to slow thin legs. | A slightly darker gold than the Kelpie, gravity defying swirls fall as slow thin legs. | More like the Kelpie in colour with similar slow thin legs when swirled. | |
| Nose | Huge maritime smoke notes - seaweed, bonfire smoke, a hint stewed apple or pear and a little dollop of honey. After a while in the glass there's some rubber and nut notes. | A little more earthy than the Kelpie - the smoke and maritime notes are still there but this is 'darker' muckier and more complex. Time in the glass reveals sawdust, citrus and chocolate notes alongside the medicinal notes we associate with Islay. | The Uigeadail loses the maritime notes altogether - this is just peat smoke, stewed fruit and honey. leaving it to breath a while releases vanilla, caramel and citrus notes. |
| Palate | Thick, slightly oily arrival, a little buttery even. Lots of spice gives way to the fruit from the nose then a big slap of medicinal peat smoke. Have I transported to a hospital without knowing it? There's dark chocolate and toffee notes with an icing sugar drying effect in the mouth leaving fruit and smoke notes. | More thicker, almost treacly arrival, again the warming spice then the smoke kicks in immediately - there's no time for anything else. As the liquid leaves your mouth the complexity reveals itself - notes of blackcurrant, chocolate, salt and honey. As the official notes suggest there is an interesting chalky effervesce in there too. | Somewhere in between the two - thick but not treacle, it's not oily either and the spice is less intense. The smoke dominates but glimpses of fruit and vanilla appear. It's sweet stewed apples this time smothered in honey. Some chocolate and toffee notes too. The icing sugar notes from the Kelpie and back with a vengeance - the moisture is stripped from your mouth. |
| Finish | Spicy smoke gives way to honey and fudge. Long and warming. | Smoky bacon crisps, chalk dust and dark chocolate, again quite long. | Chimney smoke, ash, dark chocolate and a little honey. |
| Overall | My self inflicted abstinence of Ardbeg is over - I don't know what they were doing with Groove but these three drams more than make up for that little hiccup. The Kelpie and Corryvreckan are 'similar' in their maritime medicinal peat notes, the Corryvreckan a little more complex. The Uigeadail drops the salt and just says look at me - medicinal peat smoke - whats not to like! I've not mentioned ABV yet, the Kelpie is 'only' 46% but the other two are the otherside of 50%, the Corryvreckan is 57.1% and that's because it doesn't come into the equation - it's lovely as it is - no water required. The Corryvreckan takes the top spot for me - a lovely smoky maritime dram in the Islay tradition, it's different from the Glen Scotia's I've been drinking lately - the peat is different, the medicinal notes shine through in all three drams. Which do I prefer - if you'd asked 12 months ago I would have said Islay - but lately I've been getting peanut notes from some peated Islay whisky, happily not from these three. So currently my go-to smoky maritime dram is still from Campbeltown. | ||
Many thanks to @AlpacaJo for the Corryvreckan sample and @dram_gazette for the Kelpie.
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