Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Powerful, spicy and balanced dram

Reviewed by
Connosr member:

markcnewton

Date:

6th Apr 2011

Reviewer rating:

92

About this score:

The average score for this whisky is 91.

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Tasting Notes by markcnewton

On the nose this very gentle peat smoke, honey, custard creams, waft of smoked fish, lime cordial. (Don’t plunge your nose too far into this – it’s 57.1%, for heaven’s sake.) Each time I take a whiff of this, I find there’s something else going on in the glass.

On the mouth, there are so many layered, intense flavours that just smack you right in the chops. There’s barley and treacle, brine and fire, citrus and pepper, a touch of oak and darkest bitter chocolate. This is mouthwatering stuff. That sweetness mixed with the smoke is so well balanced – in fact, if you want a text book example of a balanced single malt whisky, you need look no further.

Afterwards: a sort of biscuity, meaty, peppery, chilli-infused tang. The alcohol is so intense – cask strength – that the taste lingers for ages, nestling into all those taste-buds.

The second tasting a week or so later wasn’t quite as fine; in between this and the first, I sampled the Ardbeg Uigeadail, which really is breathtakingly good and which I must review soon. (Or perhaps it was the fiery food I consumed earlier.)

That said, the Corryvreckan is a powerful, spicy and wonderfully balanced dram.

Tags

Whisky details

Distillery/Brand:

Ardbeg

Bottling:

Region:

Islay

ABV:

57.1%

Colour:

Pale Straw

Ardbeg Corryvreckan Powerful, spicy and balanced dram Reviewed on 2011-04-06T21:57:00 scoring 92/100 by markcnewton

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