Ardbeg Dark Cove (2016 Committee Release)

When I reminded my wife today that I'd purchased this bottle two weeks ago but hadn't opened it, she made it clear that was the first thing we'd do once we got home. God, I love her! Happily, Dark Cove lives up to my expectations, and then some. It's a little different than Uigeadail, but within the Ardbeg lineup the two share the closest family resemblance. As soon as I poured it out, this scotch suffused the room with Ardbeg smoke brightened by sherry. It's rich, medicinal, with a distinctly nutty quality at times (peanut, or cashew, a fatty nut), and toasted wood chips. The palate starts out quite salty and oily, with an ideal texture and viscosity for a scotch. It makes other drams seem watery in comparison. Molasses and honey are there in spades, thick and mouth-coating. The photo finish lights up with honeyed smoke, barbecue, iodine, and that dark chocolate characteristic of the best peated whiskies. It also has a vindaloo level of spicy heat at the end, although it doesn't manifest as a burn, just a perfect level of warmth. The Dark Cove name is an apt metaphor for the scotch -- it's like ducking under a stone outcropping and huddling by a fire to shelter from a seastorm. Whether it's worth the substantial premium over Uigeadail (which is $80-85 in most liquor stores) is debatable, but it's a top-notch dram all the same.

"""** Disclaimer: This review is what I would consider a “Quick Hit”- meaning I won’t have my usual in-depth notes that I usually like to take. The reason: this sample was poured at Whiskyfest DC on 4/17/18. All of these reviews will not be scored and I am actively looking to try them again at some point to do them more justice. I think I can mark this one down as one of the more pleasant surprises of the festival, even though my palate was surely fried because this was sampled during the seminar at the very end of the night. Whereas I thought the regular Dark Cove was not different enough that a typical Ardbeg 10 to warrant a separate release- the Committee Edition was a vast improvement over what I remember about the regular DC. The sherry notes seemed well pronounced, tempered well with typical Ardbeg smoke, and the extra strength amplified all the aromas and flavors from the nose to the long finish. I could see giving this one 4.5 stars, easily. It’s a bit late in the game to search for a bottle, but if I come across one it would be hard not to bite if the price was reasonable. Cheers.

KABOOOM A 100 POINTS WHISKY HERE. Oh my god this was perfect. I am a member of Ardbeg Committee but never had one of this special releases. Well, as you can already imagine it was an incredible experience. This one is the review for the Dark Cove 110, since the "93" is the regular one. Its called 110 because of its alcohol proof, meaning it has 55%abv. Amazing dark chesnut color. It is the darkest ardbeg ever, that is why it has this name. On the nose: Is this sherry with peat!? Smells WONDERFUL. The sherriness fights this bacon/buttery peat. Blackberry marmalde with peat. No alcohol note on the nose, Strawberry marmalade. Amazing. On the palate: thick Blackberry marmalade With peat. Raisins and strawberries, homd it in the palate till it burns like fire. Chilli. Aftertaste is strong but super pleasant. Long peppery ashy finish. Overall this perhaps is the best whisky i have had in 2019 so far, it will definitively reach my top ten in december and should be found and bought. 100 over 100, SLAINTE MHATH, friends.

Nose - Lightly earthy, briny salty sea smoke, tiny hint of fresh rubber, hint of dark chocolate cocoa nibs, burnt/caramelized raisins. Taste - Beach campfire smoke, like a campfire that has lightly damp seawater soaked wood, briny dark chocolate covered raisins, hint of rubber, dark red wine poached prunes, white pepper/cayenne pepper spice tingle. Finish - Lingering salty sweet smoke, peppery tingle, salty sweet bitter chocolate. Score - 76/100 Final Thoughts - This is a more tolerable peated Scotch for me. Not being a huge fan of peated whiskies in general, this was a very drinkable dram, although I have to be in the mood for it. It's like being on a beach near the sea with a campfire, with a charcuterie spread of smoked ham, smoked salty aged cheeses, dark chocolate, and dark dried prunes and raisins. The peat is very tolerable in this one, but the lingering salt is a bit off-putting and I think for me, this would be my last or second to last dram of the night in order to cut back on the smoked salt finish.

While I"m sad that we're seeing more and more NAS special releases at higher prices, if it's good, I won't hold the lack of an age statement against it (can't say the same for the price). And this is quite good. If I were to point someone to a whiskey with an oily mouthfeel, this would be the one. The nose is all honey with coy hints of peat and brine. On the palate, pears, peat, and that sweet honey slowly build and make themselves known with an assurance you can expect from Ardbeg. Those slowly fade into a delightful punch of tartness followed by a rush of saliva who is just trying to figure out what's going on. The sweet honeyed peat sits on the roof of your mouth with a small campfire to keep it warm. And it stays there indefinitely.

THIS is the one!!! When I had my first sip of this I had to belt out an old fashioned Ric Flair "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!". My my my my, ok, settling down. Everything I want in a whisky is in this glass. This is my home run. If I could only have one bottle, this is the one I'd drink from this moment on ad infinitum. The nose and palate are supreme. Not only does it have the elements you love from their Uigeadail bottling, it also has an awesome, juicy, fat and peppery filet mignon in there! An ocean full of salty goodness, and deep chocolate covered cherries. To me, it's the perfect balance of sweet meets savory. I cannot say enough good things about this dram. ETERNAL thanks for Dreaming of Islay exchanging some samples with me.