Ardbeg Uigeadail

Name: Ardbeg Uigeadail
Brand: Ardbeg
SKU: 331
Rating: 88.76 (4458 reviews)

Overall rating: 88.76/100
votes: 4458

Whiskybase ID: WB331
Category: Single Malt
Distillery: Ardbeg
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Casktype: Bourbon / Sherry Casks
Strength: 54.2 % Vol.
Size: 700 ml
Barcode: 5010494220278
Added on: 21 Aug 2007 7:35 pm

Average value

€ 70.36

Found 53 online shops. Lowest price:

£ 51.25

	Master of Malt	£ 51.25

	The Whisky Exchange	£ 59.95

	The Real Drinks Company	£ 62.40

	Hard To Find Whisky	£ 64.95

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Whisky Reviews for Ardbeg Uigeadail

296 users have left a review for this whisky and scored it an average of 88.76 points

hs305 scored this whisky 83 points
23 Mar 2017 11:25 pm
[March, 2017] When Uigeadail was released back in 2003 I found this a great dram and scored it 91 points. It was simply delicious: very complex in its flavours and aromas and nicely balanced. So I bought several bottles...

Almost 15 years later I tried a recent edition of Uigeadail and I am totally disappointed. This is not the Uigeadail I adored. This is simply weakish, unbalanced and hot stuff with a drying/bitter finish (I guess they use virgin oak in the actual recipe - back in 2003 they would have thrown you out of the distillery if you had proposed such a change, for sure).

So, unfortunately I have to degrade my scoring from 91 points (2003) to not more than 82 points today.

Nose

83 83

Taste

82 82

Finish

81 81
Thermidor scored this whisky 84 points
04 Aug 2018 12:29 pm

I just tried four different Uigeadails (2008, 2011, 2012, and 2016) together and from the comparison it was obvious that this product is on a roughly linear downward trajectory. 2008 was the sherriest, meatiest, and heaviest. 2011 still had many similar things going on, but 2012 was already a deviation with very much reduced sherry sweetness and heavy herbal salts note on top of everything. Compared to the three older ones, the 2016 was a pitiable bottle of almost-new make with yeastiness that couldn't be found from the other ones. I scored the 2008 88 pts., the 2011 87, the 2012 86, and the 2016 84.
Slàinte Mhath scored this whisky 89 points
19 Dec 2020 3:01 pm
Most of today's NAS whiskies I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, but this old classic belongs to the few notable exceptions. The nose of Ardbeg Uigeadail takes you straight to the windswept shores of Islay, featuring seashells, brine and iodine. Peat smoke, tobacco and sweet bacon emerge, followed by band-aid, black olives and aniseed. Warming and spicy at first, the taste is intensely phenolic and earthy with notes of walnuts, honey and bitter oak. Ashy peatiness, burned toast and salty licorice mark the long finish. Wee beastie beware, papa is coming!

RATING: 4.2/5.0 stars ≙ 89 pts → FIRST-CLASS [+]

Nose

90 90

Taste

89 89

Finish

88 88
Pollenflug scored this whisky 90 points
20 Feb 2018 10:23 am
Conclusion and pictures on: https://tomtrinkt.de

Nose

Heavy smoke (campfire, ash and tar) and a light ocean breeze take over the command immediately. The aromatic intensity is always impressive. The high alcohol content (54.2%) initially stings slightly in the nose. After about 30 minutes breathing the nosing is more pleasing. Sweet fruit notes penetrate the dominant smoke after a few minutes. Vanilla, salty caramel sweets, lemon rub, hints of red fruit, tobacco and freshly ground pepper follow. The longer the malt can breathe, the more harmonious and pleasant the nose becomes.

Taste

Welcome to Islay! At the first sip, a ruthless pepperiness for a moment maltreats my tongue tip, while my entire mouth is flooded with sweet smoke. The wonderful smoke is a powerful mixture of campfire, tar and a little bit of ash. The texture is pleasantly oily, near creamy / buttery. The alcohol is better integrated for my feeling than was the case with the Nosing. The sweet fruit flavors are now gaining more and more strength and refine the taste experience with beautiful vanilla notes and salty caramel. Red fruits, oranges, lemon rubbed, dark chocolate, hints of nuts and plenty of herbs and oak follow. Intensive, multi-layered and well-balanced.

Finish

Long, smoky-sweet and warm. Furthermore, it smokes on all corners and ends, fresh fruits and a nice residual sweetness accompany the finish. Grapefruit (slightly acidic impact), lemons, vanilla and dark chocolate are present. Herbs and spicy oak provide a minimal bitter and dry finish on the palate.
waal scored this whisky 95 points
04 Jan 2018 12:00 pm

First impression / color / viscosity: Yes, a classic - only the packaging and marketing Blah blah on it enchant me. Of course, the first impression is due to the smoke. Color: saffron / viscosity: very oily run-off Aroma / Nose feeling: Pleasant feeling at the first Verriechen, only light alcoholic stinging (passes). Pleasant smoke that reminds me of a burnt camp fire. Such a campfire on which you sat all night and the next morning even smells like the ashes. Slightly grassy and already very sweet when I smelt, I would also describe the malt. Over time, caramelized lemon peels that blend in harmoniously. Taste / mouthfeel: This sweetness, this freshness, this citrus note - I just love it. At the beginning, the scotch tingles on the tip of the tongue and the oak turns the pepper mill on the inside of the cheeks. As a result, I notice the stunningly chocolaty, creamy mouthfeel with the ubiquitous smoke and superbly incorporated alcohol. With water, the single malt is a perfect treat. Round and sweet, slightly spicy with green wood, vanilla and nut cream. In addition, unripe peach and green grapes and their seeds. Except for the Octomore OBA I could not find this purity, balance and perfection in any other smoker (heavily peated, without majority ex-Sherry Fassreifung). Sure, there are plenty of other good smokers but as here, in the way no one else came into the glass. Finish / aftertaste / Length: A long, sweet finish, which is characterized by the pleasant smoke. The finish also reflects floral and especially refreshing aromas. The Nachschmecken is minimal bitter and a bit sour. I feel like spending a long evening in a smoky bar. Overall impression / comment: I have to admit that I'm not objective here - I just love this malt and all the trappings around it. I even like the progressive marketing of Ardbeg, as it obviously is marketing and I do not have to feel kidding as a customer (in contrast, I hate "back-end marketing"). Well at least regarding flavors / taste: For me (!) This is the best single malt Scotch, which is constantly available and still priced in the (subjectively) affordable framework holds. At least from those I've tasted so far ... Points: 95/100; By the way, the original from 2003 (bottled) got one more point with me ...
erwinnlim scored this whisky 83 points
03 Apr 2020 12:32 am
It has been awhile since I last had a Uigeadail and the last one was a cracker. This bottling however was somewhat disappointing. It just seems much younger and unbalanced with tannins running the show. Value (£60) : 4/10

Nose

Not as peaty as expected, and the alcohol burn is more significant. Still some sweet dark fruits with sultanas and dried figs but not as much as before. Then a load of red chilli heat.

Taste

Silky and mouth coating texture. Very oily but instantly the tannins hit. Bitter and mouth drying, overly so. Some sweetness and brine characteristics but then bitterness takes over. Astray like peat as Ardbeg is so commonly known for. Fresh cracked black pepper spice

Finish

More ashy soot here. Medium in length and bitterness of dark roasted coffee continues.
Marcel74 scored this whisky 85 points
22 Dec 2020 6:46 pm
Complex ardbeg, my first, after it has stood for a while it opens, this ardbeg also feels a bit young, I taste a metallic note, the high alcohol pushes it away a bit.

Nose

Sherry, dry fruit, raisins, chocolate. Sea salt, sea air, wet rocks, vanilla, mild peat

Taste

Peat, ash, spices, pepper, smoked meat, sweet, honey, sweetwood, sherry, malt

Finish

Super long
Stanzeflasche scored this whisky 90 points
25 Jul 2018 2:38 pm
The nose is a perfect balance between peat, sherry, smoke and iodine. You smell the soot of a wood fire in the countryside, you can almost hear the logs cracking. There is also something honeyed, salty, slightly tangy, could it be a hint of candied lemon? The dried fruits of the sherry combine everything in an absolutely bewitching way. On the palate, the sherry mixes with licorice, bark and salted caramel, and it is as if the peat is rising, to explode in a peppery, very long and oily finish. Salted caramel stays on the tongue for a very long time. Then it evolves, to leave on the palate a more peaty, smoky shade, and some cola reflections.

https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2020/06/ardbeg-uigeadail.html

Nose

90 90

Taste

88 88

Finish

91 91
Joe Karacho scored this whisky 90 points
19 Jul 2018 9:05 pm
He has his reputation right! I'm missing the baseline scores to put it into relation to older batches (this is a 2017), but what I've got here in the jar is nothing short of a massive, fruity Sherry-Islay smoker with addictive potential, you've got to try that to have!

Nose

Strong sweet smoke, noticeable Sherry influence in the form of dried fruit, and seaweed, it immediately becomes clear that a real heavyweight is in the glass, a really great Islay nose

Taste

It takes a few oily-creamy seconds before the smoke explodes in the mouth, as well as salty caramelized dates and dry oak

Finish

Long, very long, the fruity-sweet moments disappear before the smoke fills the tongue several minutes later
Rosebank88 scored this whisky 90 points
19 Jan 2018 10:56 am
Have tried different versions and find that the quality has waned in recent years, unfortunately. Pity!

Nose

Wonderfully peaty and smoky, coal smoke, grill flavors, burned grass and espresso. With water: filigree, burned oak, a trace of vanilla, burnt fruit, rose and lavender soap, swimming pool and bandages.

Taste

Oily and soft in the body. Powerful start with lots of smoke and peat. With water sweeter and floral. Here more burnt herbs and also resinous flavors. Juniper?

Finish

Long, powerful, sweet and invigorating.

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