Ardbeg Corryvreckan

It makes sense, of course, the number of reviews here that compare Uigeadail with Corryvreckan. They’re the Ardbeg high proof entries. Which is better? Which do you prefer? I had the Uigeadail two years ago and am on the verge of finishing Corryvreckan so I haven’t had them side-by-side. My impulse when it comes to what’s better is to answer: why do I have to choose? There’s virtues in both. But much as I prefer to go against the grain, I’m with the majority opinion that the Uigeadail is preferrable by a hair. Now they’re both fantastic. We’re really splitting hairs when we’re comparing these two, and my assessment of the Corryvreckan doesn’t align with the expert review here, which is funny. My dad tasted it and his assessment was almost spot on with theirs: bacon, dark berries. And I get that too. But the dark berries are an undertone. As far as fruit goes with this one, I get more a tropical fruit edge on the palate, primarily pineapple. And it’s strong to me here. My brother-in-law didn’t necessarily get that from it, but that goes to show how different palates can experience the same spirit differently. Now the whisky itself on the nose comes off amazingly similar to the Ardbeg 10 Year perhaps cut with the Beastie. There’s peat smoke with an underlying sweetness that reminds me of Werther’s original, maybe a touch of iodine but nothing so medicinal as you’d find in a Laphroaig, and there’s bitter dark chocolate mixed in the aroma as well. Quite lovely if you’re an Islay fan. On the palate is where I pick up the pineapple intermingling with that butterscotch and mixed in with prominent smoke that gives it that bacon fat quality. The finish is nice and long with a bit of tar mingling with pepper. All in all, an amazing dram that might be a smidge under Uigeadail in my rating, but one I’d gladly welcome any time it was offered. I picked this up a few months ago when my wife was coming back from a trip to Nashville. I’d been on my own with my two kids all week and I wanted to reward myself for holding up with them so well. Uigeadail went up in price recently here from about $80 to $90 but the Corryvreckan was still $90 as well so I figured that before that got jacked up by another $10 I’d nab it and it’s still at $90 so I might pick up another bottle to have on hand in my collection. I do have a bottle of Uigeadail in the cabinet but it’s unopened and I didn’t really feel like cracking it just to compare side-by-side. Memory serves. It’s the better of the two. PS. The more I sit with this and contemplate it, the more I think it drinks like a cask strength Wee Beastie.

I’ve heard some big things about this monster of a dram. 57.1% ABV, phew this is likely going to rock my socks off, and I’d expect nothing less from a whisky named after a freaking whirlpool. N: Wonderfully phenolic, bold, and rich. There is a well balanced intensity of a rotisserie chicken, creamy butter, some pine, fresh cold maritime air mingles with light herbal smoke and tarry-antiseptic. Beautiful. P: Intensely ashy arrival with a healthy creamy backdrop. Lemon, a little anise, charcoal. Big dry-oakiness, dark fruit compote adds a vaguest hint of sweetness, espresso, bacon grease. There is almost too much going on here, spices are punchy and the thread of antiseptic that runs through everything does a remarkable job of keeping everything tied together. The smokiness is vibrant and somewhat piney/menthol. Monster of a palate. F: Long. Warming, lemon, cocoa powder, cinnamon and pepper, salty smoke. Deliciously dry. I’ve hit this with about a teaspoon of water and let it sit for few minutes. The nose softens and brings the smoke forward with the antiseptic moving into sinus opening menthol territory, saltiness dials up a little. The palate loses a little spice, charcoal comes through and the lemon heads towards the territory of a sharp mandarin. Fruity dark sweetness unfolds into some cherry and blackcurrant. The finish loses a little dryness. Cripes, I knew this would be a heavy hitter but I wasn’t expecting to actually get sucked into a whirlpool. This is an unrelenting monster that doesn’t stop coming at you with waves of flavours and textures. Heavy hitting notes are tempted by a surprising softness and just enough sweetness to keep it approachable, and at times even delicate. Well played Ardbeg, that was delicious. Distiller whisky taste #225 [Pictured here with another wee beastie, apparently that will now be the Ardbeg rock theme. This beastie is from the genus Cyphaspis, a 395 Ma trilobite that called the ancient sea floor of what is now Erfoud in Morocco home. The name cyphaspis means ‘devil horned’ in reference to its long spines, the purpose of which are still not understood. The physiological features of these devil horned beasties means they were fast carnivores.] Ardbeg running scores: Ardbeg 10: 4.25/5 Wee Beastie: 3/5 Corryvreckan: 4.5/5

Total Score : 4.62 [Eng] [Nose] - Strong peaty scent but alcohol smell is weak. - Smoky scent (wood, not meat) - Caramel scent with presence. - It has a soft, savory grainy scent, perhaps due to bourbon cask influence. (This grainy scent mixes with caramel and feels like molasses.) - Smells like a large log wet from the rain. - Weak herbal scent. - The empty glass has a strong scent of burnned wood. [Palete] - Balanced salty and sweetness. - Woody - The bitterness of wrapping the tongue on the outside for a short time. - Soft scent of grain. [Finish] - Smooth peaty and smoky scent lingers in throat. - Mild barbecue scent. - The high ABV doesn’t make throat spicy and tingling, but after swallowing it, it leaves cozy warm feelings. [Kor] [Nose] - 강한 피트, 하지만 알콜 향은 약함. - 스모키한 연기, 훈연향(고기가 아닌 목재와 같은 장작) - 존재감 있는 캐러멜향. - 버번 캐스크 영향인지 부드럽고 고소한 곡물향이 있음.(이 곡물향이 캐러멜과 섞여서 당밀처럼 느껴짐.) - 베어낸 큰 통나무가 비를 맞은 것과 같은 냄새. - 약한 허브향. - 빈잔에선 강하게 탄 장작향이 남. [Palete] - 균형잡힌 짠맛과 달콤함. - 우디함. - 겉으로 짧게 감싸는 쌉싸름함. - 부드러운 곡물향. [Finish] - 목을 넘어가며 은은한 피트와 스모키향이 남음. - 담백한 바비큐향. - 고도수 때문에 목이 맵진 않지만, 삼키고 나서 뜨끈함이 기분좋게 남음.

以「品質最佳的艾雷島麥芽威士忌」為傲的ARDBEG，於1815年創立時即受到世界各地行家的欣賞，因為我們是以艾雷島麥芽呈現出具泥炭和煙燻等最佳風味的繁複美味。 ARDBEG單一純麥威士忌在所有艾雷島上的純麥威士忌中，口感最細緻且豐富，其特點並不在於泥煤味的誇飾，而是以麥芽為主，讓麥芽甜味淡淡透出，創造完美的平衡口感。平衡就是關鍵，所有的艾雷島威士忌都很獨特，但只有ARDBEG單一麥芽威士忌能夠如此達到口感的和諧，而與其他酒廠有所區隔。 ARDBEG產品更曾經連續三年獲選吉姆莫瑞（Jim Murray）威士忌聖經的年度威士忌殊榮。 Corryvreckan是歐洲最大，也是全球第二大漩渦。他位於艾雷島與吉拉島附近的海布里群島，靠近蘇格蘭西岸。 在賽爾提克神話與傳說中非常著名，瀰漫著原始、富有吸引力的力量，回應著ARDBEG的強大而桀傲不馴的氣質，是所有艾雷島威士忌中最富有泥煤味、煙燻味與最繁複的威士忌。 品牌總監漢米托瑞補充說，「我們在2008年釋出5000瓶Corryvreckan供預飲，在我們忠實的酒迷俱樂部，獲得了熱烈迴響。他們強大而正面的回應帶給我們鼓舞，決定將Corryvreckan加入成為ARDBEG系列中一支酒款。」 色澤: 深邃的琥珀色 香氣: 誘人感官的、綿密、強大的。輕搖酒杯，深吸一口，沉浸入焦油與木餾油的漩渦。當你臣服於這股力量，蔓延而上的是如蠟般黑巧克力、黑醋栗與黑砂糖的碰撞，緊接著梅、櫻桃和帶有大地氣息的赤松味。 加了水，以辣胡椒抹過的牛排表現，襯有煙燻培根、丁香和藍莓。一股混著糖蜜、薄荷腦和辣醬的令人暈醉的芬芳湧現。 口感: 中度酒體第一口是深邃的、帶胡椒口感與如海藻般的爽脆與嚼勁，在浸淫的更深，便有充盈了滿口的濃縮咖啡味，馥郁的深色果香與八角香瀰漫著 尾韻: 悠長、深邃、強大的力道持久不散，尾韻富有黑焦糖咖啡、裏果櫻桃的黑巧克力和黑胡椒的回甘，所帶來的神秘與大膽旅程的記憶，縈繞不去。

First glass of a new bottle. On the nose, I get iodine, brine, and ocean air, with some caramelized meat behind that. On the palate, caramel sweetness leads, followed by a pretty sharp turn towards smoke when the high proof hits. The finish is smokey and peppery. Definitely complex, and maybe well balanced, but I wouldn't call it well integrated - That's not a complaint by any means, but just to say it has a very distinct beginning, middle, and end. Maybe think of it like a dialed up Ardbeg 10. So maybe the best Ardbeg. High-proof, well-made peated scotches are very hard to beat.

The most agressive scotch I’ve had. I was too early along in my scotch journey when I tried this. It beat me up pretty good. But I really loved it. Really oily, with a super meaty, peaty character to it. Tastes like thick cut bacon that been charring on a charcoal grill for a while. It’s a pretty spiky whiskey, I got some sherried sweetiness from it, but my palate could not get past a lot of the agressiveness with it. I would love to have it again now that I’m more ready for it. It’s just a bit out of my price range as my priorities with money have shifted.