Starker Rauch (Lagerfeuer, Asche und Teer) und eine leichte Meeresbrise übernehmen sofort das Kommando. Die aromatische Intensität ist immer wieder aufs Neue beeindruckend. Der hohe Alkoholgehalt (54,2%) sticht anfangs leicht in der Nase. Nach ca. 30 Minuten atmen ist das Nosing gefälliger. Süße Fruchtnoten durchdringen nach einigen Minuten den dominanten Rauch. Vanille, salzige Karamellbonbons, Zitronenabrieb, Anklänge von roten Früchten, Tabak und frisch gemahlener Pfeffer folgen. Je länger der Malt atmen kann, desto harmonischer und angenehmer wird die Nase.

Herzlich willkommen auf Islay! Beim ersten Schluck malträtiert eine unbarmherzige Pfeffrigkeit für einen Augenblick meine Zungenspitze, während mein gesamter Mundraum mit süßem Rauch geflutet wird. Der wunderbare Rauch umfasst eine kraftvolle Mischung aus Lagerfeuer, Teer und ein wenig Asche. Die Textur ist angenehm ölig, nahezug cremig/buttrig. Der Alkohol ist für mein Empfinden besser eingebunden, als dies noch beim Nosing der Fall war. Die süßen Fruchtaromen gewinnen nun zunehmend an Kraft und verfeinern das Geschmackserlebnis mit schönen Vanillenoten und salzigem Karamell. Rote Früchte, Orangen, Zitronenabrieb, Zartbitterschokolade, Anklänge von Nüssen und reichlich Kräuter sowie Eiche folgen. Intensiv, vielschichtig und gut ausbalanciert.

Lang, rauchig-süß und wärmend. Weiterhin raucht es an allen Ecken und Enden, frische Früchte und eine schöne Restsüße begleiten den Abgang. Grapefruits (leicht säuerlicher Einschlag), Zitronen, Vanille und Zartbitterschokolade sind präsent. Kräuter und würzige Eiche sorgen für den minimal bitteren und trockenen Abschluss am Gaumen.

Fazit und Bilder auf: https://tomtrinkt.de

Let's compare two Uigeadails: a 75cl US bottle with bottling code starting L8 from 2008, and a 70cl version bottled in 2016 with code L66.

The first big difference is the color. L8 is noticeably darker; russetmuscat to L66's golden hue. 

By nose L66 is simple, planky, smoky and saline, with a very faint sherry touch compared to L8's musky, BBQ-like profile with fats from a grilled rib, meatiness, pepper, touches of herbal liqueur, and red wine vinegar. L8 is also sappy and tarry. These two are practically completely different whiskys, although both carry that note of the ashbox of a baking oven I associate with 2000s Ardbeg.

L66 is strong, but thin - a paradox best explained by a remarkably unique distillate being stretched to its limits. It has heavy peat smoke (more upfront than in L8), and a taste unlike any other Islay distillery, but still it somehow feels fragile and superficial. Adding water helps understand why: L66 can't really take any without going flat. A teaspoon is enough to wreck it and make it taste like a glass of Ardbeg Ten left on the table for too long. L8 takes water more gracefully and brings the sherry notes up. Even neat, L8 is a full and rich experience on the tongue, and with water it's a glorious mix of salmiak, tar, sherry on a hot frying pan, grilled pork, and a fair amount of salt.

L66 has liquid smoke and young oak, with a faint side of plaster. It's quiet and almost sad compared to L8, which has a fair bit of sherry oak and leathery notes, and lingers on the tongue for a long while.

For all intents and purposes, L8 and L66 are not the same whisky, and I would not buy a bottle of L66. Having liked the Corryvreckan back when it was released, and having been unimpressed of late when trying a glass of it at a bar, I get this feeling that as the years have gone by, the Ardbeg NAS range has converged in taste, and now it's all this oddly thin, saline, planky stuff regardless of the product line.

L8 gets a solid 88 pts. while L66 only nets 84.

N: subito si è accolti in un giardino di raffinate delizie: lo sherry tiene banco anche in questa versione, con marmellata di fragole e prugne cotte. Tutto davvero intenso. Ogni tanto emergono note di mela rossa da panico. A tratti si fa liquoroso (liquore all’arancia?), ma poi ecco anche suggestioni di banana, di tarte tatin, mandarini succosi. Degno di nota anche il lato salmastro, che è pronunciato e rievoca corde salate di barca. La torba, assieme a un fumo forte, sa di porticciolo, con le barchette di legno arse dal sole, dal sale e dal cherosene. Per finire il menù offre anche cuoio, aghi di pino, cioccolato e pepe nero.

F: prolunga all’infinito i piaceri del palato.

P: ha un percorso circolare: attacca sul fumo di torba intenso (braci, barbecue, cuio), si spalanca poi su una dolcezza varia e potente, anche se non troppo ruffiana, tutta giocata su marmellata di fragole, chips di mele, cioccolato e mandarino. Poi la circolarità menzionata fa sì che il tutto si richiuda verso una magnifica nota assieme catramosa e iodata. Ancora un filo di pepe.

F: prolunga all’infinito i piaceri del palato.

for full review go to https://whiskyfacile.com/2015/06/12/ardbeg-uigeadail-2014-ob-542/

Vegetal and minerally peat, mixed fresh citrus peels and sherry tannins, smokey maple syrup and sweet licorice, sweet and sour red fruits (cherries, figs, prunes, and raspberries), and a hint of dry leaf litter and oak char.

Oak and malt, a wave of wood-smoke peat, smoked dehydrated fruits (apples, plums, and cranberries), wood-smoke infused vanilla and honey, a touch of baking spices (nutmeg and corriander), and smokey barbeque sauce (hickory) on a wood-fire grill.

Smoked and slightly charred honey-glazed ham, dark chocolate covered espresso beans, and sweet iodine peat smoke with oak tannins and char.

I found this one was at its best with a teaspoon of water to ~30ml and left for about 12-20 minutes. After that, the nose and palate just seem to become more harmonious and engaging experiences. They also become a touch less vegetal and a bit sweeter. The 10 y.o. is good, but this one adds just a bit more to the experience. I'm not a big peat fan, but this one, in my humble opinion, is good.