Ardbeg Ardbog - Review
Age: 10 years, although not stated on the bottle
Barrel type: 60% ex-bourbon and 40% ex-Manzanilla sherry casks
Region: Islay
ABV: 52.1%
Price: $125
Additional details: non-chill filtered, natural color
Ardbeg Ardbog was the celebratory, limited-edition bottling for Ardbeg Day 2013. I was shocked to see the bottle gathering dust on the shelf of my local liquor store and snapped it up. Although not age-stated, this whiskey is a mixture of 10-year old ex-bourbon Ardbeg (i.e., Ardbeg 10) and 10-year old Ardbeg aged in Manzanilla sherry casks. Manzanilla is a region-restricted variant of fino sherry, which is a dry, mineral-heavy sherry.
It's pretty funny to think about the economics of whisky limited editions. 60% of this liquid is a slightly less diluted Ardbeg 10, which costs about $50. But add a minority of whisky of the same age but aged in a different style of barrel, and the price explodes up to $125. And it's not just because sherry casks are so much more expensive, although they are more costly. Something like Macallan 12, which is aged entirely in sherry casks, costs $60-70 a bottle. At the end of the day, one has to accept a pretty substantial price premium to enjoy these limited editions, which do offer a surprising and, sometimes, enhancing twist on a well-loved distillery's product.
Because I still had some Dark Cove Committee Release, I had a chance to compare these two sherry-aged Ardbegs head to head.
Appearance: Ardbog has one of the coolest and funniest boxes around. The front features a beautiful sword, a bronze piece purportedly unearthed near Oa. As the text informs us, "Cut 3 foot into the bog and you'll have dug 1000 years into the past. Dig deeper and you'll discover peat formed from prehistoric vegetation -- the essence of Ardbeg." The sides contain additional images of archaeological or paleontological finds from Islay, including ancient coins, helmets, and fossils. One of them, a fossilized nautilus, is "a very early member of the Clam MacDougall, forefathers of Ardbeg's founders." Ha! In the glass, Ardbog is the color of advanced rust, although not as dark as Dark Cove.
Nose: Ardbog has aromas of Woodford Reserve bourbon balls: pecan and chocolate surrounding a bourbon-infused filling. The Manzanilla adds dark, sweet notes of chocolate and toffee or caramel throughout, rather than the jam or dried-fruit scent that comes from other types of sherry. There's a strong burst of leafy smoke and leather, leaving no doubt as to the heavily peated nature of this single malt. Compared to Dark Cove, which has drier, woodier notes, Ardbog is spicier.
Palate: The first flavors are of a peat-laced honey, and then I get a combination of sea spray and flowers that I'm going to start calling "spring Ardbeg." In addition, there's some mulled wine, grapefruit, iodine and phenols from the peat. Dark Cove has much darker, riper fruit flavors, while Ardbog leans toward freshly plucked citrus fruits. Ardbog exhibits a pleasant thickness, balance, and texture, but the palate has a rough, hot edge to it on some sips, and more smoke than Dark Cove.
Finish: Ardbegs tend to distinguish themselves with complex finishes, particularly when sherry gets involved, and Ardbog is no different. Licorice, cream, and strong smoke are the first few flavors. It's slightly bitter and herbal, as the grapefruit comes around the first turn with the lead. This is one of the smokiest, "robusto" Ardbegs I've had. Compared to Dark Cove once again, Dark Cove is more pleasant while Ardbog is more challenging. The former emphasizes mint chocolate in balance with its smoke, while Ardbog is peatier and smokier by a long shot.
Value for Money and Final Impressions: This is one of the Ardbeg special editions that earns its keep, rather than just paying for the salaries of LVMH's stellar marketing department. Is it my favorite Ardbeg of all time? I think not, although it isn't very far from my favorites, like Ardbeg Day or Dark Cove.
In its smoke level, this feels more like Ardbeg Perpetuum, which was heavily peated and sooty. The difference is that those sherry casks add a lot more to this dram, extra layers of flavor that justify the price and difficulty of acquiring a bottle.
Rating: A-