Ardbeg Uigeadail - Pure Awesome

 

I'll cut to the chase. If you find a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail at a liquor store, buy it, and put it in your liquor cabinet. Or buy it, and send it to me. But buy it.

If you need to know more than that, read on ...

If I had to choose to only drink one whisky for the rest of my life, I'd go with Ardbeg Uigeadail (pronounced Oog-A-Dal). It's got an astonishingly rich, complex set of flavors that one can sip and savor for hours.

Despite being technically a single malt scotch- in other words, the product of a single scottish distillery where the grain bill consists of 100% barely malt, aged for at least 3 years in Scotland - Uigeadail is a testament to the art of vatting (marrying) different expressions to achieve something new and wonderful. It's also named after the lock (lake) that provides water to the Ardbeg distillery.

A brief aside, for context, is in order at this point. Ardbeg is an Islay scotch  - it hails from the Isle of Islay, off the southwestern coast of Scotland. Islay scotches are known for their peatiness, and Ardbeg is part of the monster peat triumvirate along the southeastern coast of Islay: Laphroig and Lagavulin are the other two. Other Islay scotches are peaty, but these three define the outer edge of peatiness.

Of further interest, is the modern history of Ardbeg. Once upon a time, the signature distillery bottling (at least in the US) was Ardbeg 17-year-old. However, the distillery was closed from 1981-1989, and open only 2 months a year for distilling from 1989-1996, and then closed again in 1996. It was bought by Glenmorangie in 1997 and slowly put back into full production.

The upshot of the production interruptions is that the standard Ardbeg expression available, at least in the US, became Ardbeg 10-year-old, and 17-year-old disappeared from the shelves. On a more speculative note, that production interruption and the resulting lack of stock may be part of the reason why the reborn Ardbeg has been so experimental, and why many of it's special expressions don't carry age statements.

Which wraps us back to Uigeadail. Ardbeg is traditionally aged in used bourbon barrels. Uigeadail is a mix of Ardbeg whisky aged in used sherry casks and Ardbeg whisky aged in used bourbon barrels. It's bottled pretty much at cask strength - 54.2% alcohol, 108.4 proof- and comes with no age statement.

And this is where the magic happens, The standard Ardbeg 10-year is a big, raw, brawling whisky that takes your tongue out to the woodshed and beats it into submission. And that's after being watered down to 92 proof for bottling, and likely more in you glass. It's a love it or hate it dram.

Uigeadail is a different beast. People who hate the standard Ardbeg find Uigeadail to be enchanting (based on actual experience serving the same set of folks both Ardbegs on consecutive nights).

The peat, the iodine, and the sea are still there, but the addition of the sherry-cask-aged spirit rounds them off with sweet notes and rich counterpoints. This is still an imposing dram, but instead of delivering a back-yard beat down to your taste buds, it simply sweeps them away into a another world of savory flavors dancing with sweet, smoke intertwining with sherry, and leaves them satiated, a little breathless, and yet still wanting another sip and another dance.

In the glass, Uigeadail is a dark red, amber. It promises depth, which it will deliver in spades.

Straight up - well I don't drink this straight up. I always add water, and a bit more than a splash, but never more than 25% of the whisky in the initial pour. Because when you add water, Uigeadail truly reveals its wonders.

For me. the nose (bouquet, aroma) is wonderful mix of peat and ocean water, blended with sherry notes.

In my mouth, Uigeadail feels rich and full and a touch oily (but not unpleasantly so). It has weight and presence - a hefty spirit, as opposed to a light one. To me, the flavors are tantalizing and stunningly balanced mix of peat, iodine, seawater, smoke, sweet sherry, and a hint of thick honey.

Uigeadail has a long, smokey, finish that lingers and lingers and lingers. You can easily savor it 15 minutes or more after finishing your dram.

Uigeadail runs $70 - $80 in the US, and is worth every penny. This has a permanent place of honor in my liquor cabinet.