Review #20: Ardbeg Uigeadail

Distillery: Ardbeg

Region: Islay

ABV: 54.2%

Age: NAS, NCF

Price: $5 for a 50 mL sample

Color: Color: 1.3 Russet, Muscat

Nose (according to the wife): Is our smoke alarm going off? Lots of smoke in here. There’s some smoked/burnt wood, some burnt rubber, and some smokey peat.

Palate: Just like the nose suggests, it tastes like you’re drinking pure liquid smoke. And it’s delicious. I’m reminded of that lovely smell that comes from sitting around the campfire or from deliciously smoked barbecue. There’s a bit of salt and a bit of nuttiness that comes along with it. With some water, you get a bit of a fruity element to it, which is nice. Crisp but a bit tart, apples perhaps? Water does bring out a little more saltiness which isn’t quite as nice.

Finish: The finish has a slow burn and is nice and long. A little more of the nuttiness but mostly smoke.

Conclusion: With the Uigeadail being /r/Scotch’s highest rated whisky (when weighted for review sample size), I had really high hopes for this one. And I must say, it delivered. The smokiness of this is absolutely warming and delicious. Drinking this dram really feels like you’re sitting in front a campfire on a warm summer night. It is very overpowering however and I would recommend drinking this as one of the last drinks of the night as you probably won’t taste much else after this. I wish there was a little more to the palate—perhaps a bit of citrus or sweetness like barbecue sauce—as it pretty straightforward. But then again, you probably wouldn’t be able to pick up much complexity with this much smoke.

Final Score: 84

Scotch whisky review #20, Islay review #1, Island review #2, Whisky Network Review #21

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection.
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.