Ardbeg Uigeadail

[Wub]

I was planning to buy a bottle of the Caol Ila 12 this afternoon but the local liquor store where I saw it had sold the last bottle last night. So, hyped to buy another bottle of whisky, I went across the road to another local and saw that they had the Uigeadail for AU$110. It looked like a good price (later confiirmed, it seems, by prices listed on the Internet), and I was sorely tempted to try my first "cask strength" whisky.

So anyway, I bought it...and I love it.

I see similarities with the Ardbeg 10, but it seems to have something new that I haven't tasted before in a whisky (there's some sweetness, but the overall impression I get is savoury).

It was a surprise at first. I hope I continue to get surprised by whisky.

Mark

[Wub]

Well OK, I've had a few (um...several?) drams of this now, and it's still surprising me. Mark this down as my favourite whisky so far. Divine...sublime...

Mark

[borgom]

Glad to hear you're enjoying the Uigeadail Mark.
Can you tell me where you bought it?
I'd love to grab some at that price.

[lohssanami]

Hey Wub,

I've heard recently that Australia has some of Jim Murray's Whisky of the Year batch.

Let me know if you need help finding the bottle code.

Cheers...

[AshDLS]

Yeah, I'd like to know where in Melbourne this bottle shop is too!

At least with St Kilda, Acland Cellars would have to be one of my favourites purely for their selection of import beers. Mind-blowing.

[borgom]

Hey Wub,

I've heard recently that Australia has some of Jim Murray's Whisky of the Year batch.

Let me know if you need help finding the bottle code.

Cheers...

Which one's that lohssanami?

[borgom]

Don't worry lohssanami I've found it but how do you know this is the "magical" batch?

[lohssanami]

Don't worry lohssanami I've found it but how do you know this is the "magical" batch?

See this thread.
http://www.whiskymag.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9779

Back when the rumors came out, I messaged Knolly, since he was in Vancouver, and asked if he knew anything about it. He was able to put the info together.

[Wub]

Can you tell me where you bought it?

Cellarbrations, Acland Street (in Acland Court). But I think I got the last bottle. Hopefully when/if they restock they'll keep the same price.

They only have a small range but what they do have seems select: they had three expressions of Ardbeg (there's still a Blada there, but I'm not going to rush out to try that).

I've heard recently that Australia has some of Jim Murray's Whisky of the Year batch.

Well if I stumble across one it might be interesting to try, but the one I've got is pretty good (but I don't think it's going to last very long). In fact, who knows: maybe it's another "special" batch (the code on the bottle isn't listed on the Ardbeg Project, so I sent you a note).

Let me know if you need help finding the bottlecode.

Well, it took me awhile but eventually I found it and slowly extracted the information. Those etchings aren't very deep!

Mark

[Wub]

I was wondering: has anyone tried the "Whisky of the Year" batch and confrmed that there is actually something special about it? I've seen lots about whether it exists, and confirming the batch code etc., but I haven't seen anyone actually say that they've tried the same batch, and that it is indeed a cut above the rest.

Mark

[AnttiH]

I was wondering: has anyone tried the "Whisky of the Year" batch and confrmed that there is actually something special about it? I've seen lots about whether it exists, and confirming the batch code etc., but I haven't seen anyone actually say that they've tried the same batch, and that it is indeed a cut above the rest.

Mark

If you mean the one with the sticker on it (whisky of the year 2009, Jim Murray's whisky bible) then that's the one I bought from the distillery in May.
It's the only bottle I have of Uigeadail, so can't really compare - but it's awesome stuff!

Antti

[Wub]

If you mean the one with the sticker on it (whisky of the year 2009, Jim Murray's whisky bible) then that's the one I bought from the distillery in May.

No, I think they just started putting stickers on all of the boxes after it had become Murray's whisky of the year. I mean a particular bottling with a code starting with "L7 325".

It's the only bottle I have of Uigeadail, so can't really compare - but it's awesome stuff!

Obviously I agree.

Mark

[Knolly]

I was wondering: has anyone tried the "Whisky of the Year" batch and confrmed that there is actually something special about it? I've seen lots about whether it exists, and confirming the batch code etc., but I haven't seen anyone actually say that they've tried the same batch, and that it is indeed a cut above the rest.

Mark

I have had a fair bit of Uigeadail over the past few years and i've had a lot of the L7 325 batch. It's definitely my favourite Oogie, but I've by no means tasted all of the oogie batches (maybe 4 or 5 different ones). Also, while it is a great whisky, it's not "the best whisky I've tasted" by any means.

I think what makes this particular batch good is that you start to sense the complexity in it that many of the great older Ardbegs had in them. However while it's excellent whisky, it's not quite (IMHO) in the same league as some of the truly great Ardbegs.

Cheers!

[Reggaeblues]

I still wonder at the subjectivity of all this. Any uigeadal i've tasted has been great. I just wonder how I'd react if i was TOLD this was "the batch" in a roomful of learned whisky tasters all going "mmm,,,mmm this is THE batch" etc.

I know how my tastes change subtly...for example, if i haven't had a dram for a couple of days, even a normally "run of the mill" dram tastes great!

Just look at Jim Murray's review of the Lagavulin 21, which, lovely though the oogie is, I would rate as more exceptional and unusual. I was sent a sample, since i won't be able to afford a bottle in the near future...and it was akin to a religious experience! took me 20 minutes to get my nostrils out of the glass and TASTE the damn stuff!

but jim "got it wrong" first time, as he admits, gave it a low 80s...then revisits and gives it 96!

Oogie is great whisky, but i know my imagination plays tricks with me...and would this fuss exist over "the batch" if we hadn't been told about it? or maybe Jim's taste buds were particularly perky the day he tried it...

We may never know!

[Willie JJ]

I see similarities with the Ardbeg 10, but it seems to have something new that I haven't tasted before in a whisky (there's some sweetness, but the overall impression I get is savoury).

The main difference between the Oogy and the 10yo (apart from the strength) is that the Oogy has 15% sherry casks in the vatting. I guess that's what you're tasting.

[Knolly]

I totally agree with you Reggaeblues:

I absolutely LOVE Laga 21 - and i know what you mean about the nose: I still remember the first time I opened a bottle of it as it took over 30 minutes before I even worked up the courage to taste it!. It's one of my all time favourite whiskies and in the right mood, it's definitely my favourite whisky

And, while I really like Oogie, no batch that i have ever tasted has been as good as Laga 21 - period, BC Oogie included.

Also, Again I agree with you regarding JM's comments: if regular Laga 16 ranks 95 points, to me Laga 21 should rank about 106 points :p But, that being said, it's his "bible", he scoring, his personal taste, etc... And, I think it suffers a bit from recently reviewed products being compared against ones reviewed a few (or several) years earlier. Case in point is the Ardbeg Provenance. This is a whisky that simply has that great complexity and depth that the older Ardbegs have (and Laga 21 has as well).

Now, all of that being said, there is definitely something different about the L7 325 batch. The other day, we opened up a 2004 Oogie (L4 349 if I remember correctly) and it tasted exactly how I remembered my first taste of Oogie to taste like (when I bought my first Oogie in 2005, also an L4 bottle). And, I have a half drank L4 bottle at home as well, that again, tastes very similar to the one that we opened the other evening (even though the one at my place has been open for about 3 years). These to me taste very similar: Ardbeg with sherry and a somewhat hot alcoholic (in a good way) shock (as described by the whisky writers ) Not sure how to describe it any other way than to see that I like it.

However, the L7 325 bottling seems to have a bit more of those Laga 21 qualities where the sherry is more integrated: i.e. it feels smoothly blended in, in layers, instead of being sherry vs. bourbon taste. This definitely isn't scientific (which is surprising since my background is physics :p), but it's the best way that i can describe it. Would I get the same results in a blind tasting? I don't know, but I think (hope!) that I would.

In the end, it's brought a great spirit to the attention (not that it already wasn't) to many people and hopefully made a few more people interested in Ardbeg. Obviously the marketing people are all over this and JM's hardly not biased considering that he makes his lively hood on reviews. But in the end, it's just one person's opinion that has a large audience; we have to make up our own minds: personally, I stick with my opinion which is that it's noticeably different than other Oogies that i've had and I think I like it better. But, while a great whisky (and one that i really enjoy drinking) it's not the best whisky I've ever tasted.

Cheers!

I still wonder at the subjectivity of all this. Any uigeadal i've tasted has been great. I just wonder how I'd react if i was TOLD this was "the batch" in a roomful of learned whisky tasters all going "mmm,,,mmm this is THE batch" etc.

I know how my tastes change subtly...for example, if i haven't had a dram for a couple of days, even a normally "run of the mill" dram tastes great!

Just look at Jim Murray's review of the Lagavulin 21, which, lovely though the oogie is, I would rate as more exceptional and unusual. I was sent a sample, since i won't be able to afford a bottle in the near future...and it was akin to a religious experience! took me 20 minutes to get my nostrils out of the glass and TASTE the damn stuff!

but jim "got it wrong" first time, as he admits, gave it a low 80s...then revisits and gives it 96!

Oogie is great whisky, but i know my imagination plays tricks with me...and would this fuss exist over "the batch" if we hadn't been told about it? or maybe Jim's taste buds were particularly perky the day he tried it...

We may never know!

[Whisky1978]

I see similarities with the Ardbeg 10, but it seems to have something new that I haven't tasted before in a whisky (there's some sweetness, but the overall impression I get is savoury).

The main difference between the Oogy and the 10yo (apart from the strength) is that the Oogy has 15% sherry casks in the vatting. I guess that's what you're tasting.

I've tried the Uigeadail a couple months ago. To me it was the best ardbeg I've ever tasted. It has some "Lagavulin sherry hints" which I really like.... The 15% sherry casks probably explain that. I've called the owner of the store which bottling of Uigeadail it was. He didn't know but it was probably bottled in 2008.