Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
Trying out the Wee Beastie against the next youngest Ardbeg I have: Ardbeg Very Young, 6 years old from back when they were restarting the distillery after Glenmorangie bought it. Tasted on 8/8/2020, neat in a Glencairn.
This is the new 5 year old expression from Ardbeg. Nice to see a young age statement bottling from Ardbeg.
Distillery: Ardbeg
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 47.4%
Age: 5 years old. Bottled on 09/23/2020.
Cask type: Ex-Bourbon and Oloroso Sherry Casks
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: cereal, malt, smoke, peat, citrus, seaweed, brine, a bit of machine oil.
Taste: smoke, peat, ash, brine, pepper, sweet citrus.
Finish: smoke, pepper, sweet citrus, the smoke becomes a bit subtle really and lingers. A longer finish than I expected given its age.
I really quite like this. It’s not overly complex, but it’s a nice, young, smokey Ardbeg with a fine finish.
Final Score: 82.
This is the non-committee Very Young, distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2004, so about 6 years old.
From the bottle: “This Very Young ARDBEG has been bottled at natural strength, is non chill-filtered and drawn entirely from ‘first fill’ casks. The result is a vigorous ARDBEG on its path to full maturity, already packed full of flavour.”
This is the first in the series of bottles: Very Young, Still Young, Almost There, and Renaissance.
Distillery: Ardbeg
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 58.3%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Distilled in 1998. Bottled in 2004.
Non-chill-filtered. One of 2,880 bottles.
Nose: cardboard, tobacco smoke, earthy loam, old wood, a bit of aniseed in there, some lemon, cedar oil.
Taste: pepper, malt, lemon, sweet, oily, smoke. After a while some pears, camphor.
Finish: pepper, smoke, sweet, lemon rind, finish is fairly short, ends a bit bitter.
This is interesting. The flavors are all fairly subtle, but they feel out of balance. Water doesn’t do much for this, so I didn’t bother with notes after water. This is most interesting for the history of it, but the expressions further along the line are better.
Final Score: 77.
Comparison
Order: Wee Beastie > Very Young
This was a fun comparison, and they’re really quite different. The Wee Beastie is honestly better: good balance with a nice finish.
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.
Malt Runners 