Ardbeg Uigeadail (my first bottle)

[jimidrammer]

Ardbeg Uigeadail 54.2% abv

Tasting notes:

Color: Yellow gold

Nose: Vegetal, earthy, Moms' meatloaf, mustard, sage, wet leaves, a little seaweed and salt. Rounded and assertive, bright, but richly smooth

Palate: Quickly sweet, then smoky. Light charring meats, intense bite, but pleasant and powerful

Body: Slick, thin-ish, well- rounded

Finish: Lingering. A little bitter dryness at the very end like green persimmons


A true pleasure to examine and enjoy. And it looked right at home in one of my Ardbeg Tasting glasses with the distillery logo and appropriate proclamation "The Ultimate Islay Malt"

Score: 93 My ratings tend to be a little higher than others but I'm comfortable with this evaluation since I'll probably never see a rare upper 90's bottling of anything.

I wasn't expecting meat, but there it was. It is fascinating how some aromas and flavors could possibly be detected. Good thing I have a 2nd bottle because they will be entertaining me for a long while at only $69US, just $10 more than the Ardbeg "Ten". Now if I could only get the nerve to purchase the 1974 "Provenance" I've had my eye on.

[Admiral]

Great notes, and fairly accurate observations, at least as far as my palate is concerned!

If you can ever get hold of the Ardbeg 1977, this is a true beauty!

Cheers,
Admiral

[patrick dicaprio]

i am surprised that you didnt find it to be distinctly tarry. when i first opened the bottle my first impression was of a freshly asphalted driveway or road. not that it was bad mind you, i thought it was a very good whisky.

i havent had your mom's meatloaf so i cant comment on it, unless you want to bring it to a tasting!

Pat

[Crispy Critter]

If you can ever get hold of the Ardbeg 1977, this is a true beauty!

Indeed, it is. I just killed one of my two bottles earlier this week. The other one is going to stay unopened for quite a while. I had my eye one one last bottle at a nearby Binny's, but someone FOAFed it before I could pull the trigger. I guess I shouldn't get too greedy, though, and I hope it found a good home.

Fortunately, the 10yo is a mighty good dram in its own right, and I have a much more plentiful stock of it...

[Lawrence]

Yes, the 10 is a very good dram, I have a renewed appreciation for it.

[Deactivated Member]

I got my first bottle of Uigeadail at the weekend an would concur with what has been said about it above. IMHO it felt as if the 10 had grown up.
I did a brief HTH and have to say the Uigeadail seemed to have a greater complexity and more rounded mouthfeel whereas the 10yo was an unruly child, red faced and squealing as it was dragged where it didn't want to go!

10yo - 92
Uigeadail - 94

Would love to try a 17 but can't get a hold of it anywhere

[bamber]

Get a mini ?
http://www.thedramroom.co.uk/index.asp? ... .asp?id=10

[hpulley]

I recently got my first bottle of Uigeadail and I'm also enjoying it greatly though I dram it less than TEN since the latter is easily available while the "Oogie" is not. TEN is peatier but Uigeadail is more complex, sweeter and with a longer finish (TEN is more dry and shorter).

Harry

[jimidrammer]

Would love to try a 17 but can't get a hold of it anywhere Crying or Very sad

I finished one of my 17's last night with 2 in the wings. They are scarce, but I would say tha Uigeadail is more intense and the 10 is better balanced, the 17 seems too smoothed out and a little weak. It's still great as is nearly everything that has come from Ardbeg, but I'll probably not lose sleep over it's availability.

[Deactivated Member]

Thanks for that. If it comes along, great. If not I'll console myself with the Oog.

[Ed]

Hello All,
I had my first drams (2) of Uigeadail the other day in my favorite bar. I liked it a lot. Not sure if I like it better than the 10 or not. It seemed very sweet and less peaty that the 10. I would have had a dram of the 10 instead of the second Uigeadail, but they didn't have any on hand. I did have just a touch of the 10 after I got home. If I remember my impressions correctly, I may prefer that to the Uigeadail. That is lucky for me as I have never seen the Uigeadail on any liquor store shelf. The 10 is easy to come by and if I wait for a good price it is as affordable as it is drinkable.
Ed