Ardbeg BizarreBQ

Review by: INSERT NAME HERE

I’ve missed out on many of the recent Ardbeg special releases. What’s kept me away? It’s the combination of high prices, low availability (at least where I was at the time), and my own personal gimmick-apathy. But hey, I liked Heavy Vapours, so maybe I’ve been missing out. This Ardbeg is themed and constructed around barbeque, through the use of “BBQ casks”, which as far as I can tell are just custom-made extra-charred casks. They’re certainly getting a lot of mileage out of that char lately, since Scorch used them too.

Distillery: Ardbeg.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 50.9%.

Age: No age statement.

Cask type: Matured in a mix of double-charred casks (that’s what Ardbeg calls them, I assume that means recharred casks), Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, and extra-charred “BBQ casks”.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Okay, I know I’ve been prompted by the name, but I’ll be damned if I’m not smelling smoked brisket and Carolina-style pulled pork with vinegar sauce. It’s mouth-watering, actually. Molasses, pickled hot peppers, damp soil, rosemary, and sage. Spiced apple cider and clove-studded orange. Iodine and scorched earth.

Palate: Medium-thick texture. Arrives with very dark roasted malt and earth. Deeply savoury and rather woody on the development. Texas chili, pepper steak, cooked vegetables (edamame dipped in soy sauce?), potting soil, espresso beans, and mustard seed. Sweetness pops in here, with some deep dark dried fruit and brown sugar, but then comes heavy woody spice and prickly tannin. Salted licorice and ginger chews.

Finish: Medium-long, meaty and very salty. Earthy peat smoke, damp bogs, black pepper, burnt ends, moss, and salt-lashed rocks. Chocolate-covered strawberries and Angostura bitters. Lingering oak spice and molasses.

Possible SMWS bottling name “Pitmaster knighthood ceremony”

Conclusion: This is actually very good. The PX casks and enhanced wood character from the deep-charred casks really do bring out a barbeque smoked-meatiness, so I’d call the dram a complete success from a theming perspective. It maybe doesn’t work quite as well as Heavy Vapours from a flavour perspective, but the meatiness here is undeniable and slightly addictive.

Final Score: 85.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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