[October, 2017]  I call this the "little Kelpie".  Obviously, Kelpie was a test ballot on how a caucasian virgin oak Ardbeg is received by the Ardbeg community.  And as the reactions on the Kelpie were rather mixed they most probably adjusted the An Oa recipe to a more smoother and less woody (aggressive) dram by adding more standard bourbon casks and less virgin oak - what is fine.

But why do they use virgin caucasian oak at all?  The reason is very simple:  Due to the long-lasting whisky boom there is a severe cask shortage at all Scottish distilleries (bourbon whisky did not grow as much as Scotch did) and even more severe at groups that do not own a bourbon distiillery in their portfolio (like LVHM).  Consequently, to mature the ever growing output scottish distilleries more and more have to use virgin oak casks too and therefore a lot of scotch whisky has become more wood-driven and bourbon-ish in their style (look at Laphroaig or Macallan, for example).  

Caucasian oak induces a different flavours profile into whisky than the traditional american or european oak.  It is significantly more herbal with eucalyptus and camphor notes (that I personally do not like as this reminds me of cough medicine).  In this respect it is a completely new style of whisky that you either like or not.  But to say it very clear:  Distilleries do this out of despair (as they are short of high quality casks) and not because they want to innovate...  But it is an innovation, nevertheless!  And we will see if this leads to some more interesting flavour profiles over time (once the maturation had a chance to really work over an appropriate period and not just for a few years as with the Kelpie or An Oa), especially when second and third fill caucasian casks are available.

But to be honest:  This is a typical Ardbeg, for sure and it is better than other standard editions right now (good that they did the test ballot with the Kelpie).  But it is not great and rather average only (or judged by Ardbeg standards:  still below average)...

PS:  I tried batch L67986 bottled 04/07/2017.

(Tasted semi-blind; I knew it was Ardbeg, not which one)
NOSE: Sweet bonfire ashes. Initially it smells like a relativelely dry, not so coastal peat, which has had a healthy dose of sherry maturation. Gradually a maritime influence comes along, with iodine, tar, old tarry boat ropes, some herbal greens, winter green, and that sweet oily smell which you get from combining Islay peated spirit with sherry casks. Quite rich and lovely but not terribly complex. With time becomes more and more green and herbal. (88-89p).
TASTE: The arrival is rather fruity and slightly sweet. On the mid palate there are greengages, green bananas and green herbs, with eucaluptys and mint and also some bitter green herbs as well as some bitter wood tannins. (86p).
EXIT: Sweet, slightly oily bonfire ashes. Mild black pepper. Green herbs. Quite nice. (86p).
OVERALL: A very green and herbal, but a bit unbalanced. A not so very ardbeggy Ardbeg. Lovely nose, though. TOTAL SCORE 87 (86) points.

Smoky dark chocolate with lemon peel, hay, tobacco and caramel.

RATING: 85pts - [n21,t22,f21,b21] → |83-85: Decent|

bottle code: L67986 03/07/2017