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Ardbeg Uigeadail

A smooth, long-lasting marriage...

0 592

@hunggarReview by @hunggar

7th Dec 2013

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  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Overall
    92

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

This was a birthday gift from my wonderful girlfriend. She knows that I love big flavours, with peat and sherry being favorites. It seems only natural that I’d want to give this a go. Of course not everyone thinks peat and sherry should marry. At least they didn’t use to. Now, with the Uigeadail, people seem to be appreciating how dynamic and wonderful a couple they can be. People love this stuff, and it has an almost cult-like following in the world of whisky. Does it deserve all of this regard and status? Well, it may not be a godsend, but it is a damn fine whisky by any standard.

Nose: While peat and sherry are at the core of this whisky, the coastal/island character is also quite noticeable here. Salt, sea air, and seaweed are here. Raspberry jam, cherries, lemons, marmalade, honey, soft vanilla, and lavender. Very nice wood notes, with cedar, pine needles, and dark, wet oak. Lovely waves of earthy peat with that signature semi-medicinal tinge. Very rich and layered.

Palate: A silky texture greets us. Very nice mouthfeel. Salt and sweetness are nicely balanced here. The peat comes on in a very powerful but controlled manner. Black pepper, faint coconut, licorice, honey, and cotton candy.

Finish: Lovely, long finish. Raspberry jam, black current jam, cherries, roasted barley, burnt toast and just a bit of oak. The smoke is sweetened by the sherry and has a fruity/industrial flavour that’s somewhat hard to put into words. This is long and lasting, with the individual flavours subsiding at different paces, making the finish very dynamic.

When we write reviews, we want our own voices to stand out. We want fresh ideas and new perspectives. Well, sorry folks. I’m going to say roughly the same thing that almost everyone else says. This is a damn good whisky. This has been opened for two months, and I’m noticing a good deal of evolution happening. Definitely vibrant.

For me the biggest strength here is balance. Many sherry/peat marriages are troubled. The sherry notes can become candy-like in response to the peat presence. Although rarely unpleasant or cloying, they can occasionally steal the spotlight from the peat presentation. Not so here. The peat is big and bold enough to keep the sherry from candying up the whisky too much. That’s not to say that the sherry plays second fiddle here. Simply that it is controlled. There are two big flavours in here, but they aren’t competing against each other, they’re working together. The result is an interesting, evolving, and dynamic dram if ever there was one.

Side note: This is an Asian bottling of the Oogie, and has no code on the back. I don’t know anything about its year or batch number, unfortunately.

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5 comments

Jonathan commented

Thanks for the excellent review. I haven't tried a bad bottle of Uigeadail yet. The only difference between batches that I have noticed is that, in some, the sherry has been more prominent than in others. I have read that some of the earlier batches have had older whisky in the mix (no surprise), but I have not yet tried any of those older batches. In any case, your review reminds me that I need to replace my empty bottle of "Oogie" while it is still on sale...

10 years ago 0

@hunggar
hunggar commented

I'm not one to comment on the batch variations with the Oogie,I haven't tried enough of them. But others have been quite vocal about how much variation there is between the batches, with most people preferring the pre-2011 bottlings. Either way, you might want to check out @Nock. I believe he's written roughly 492753 different Uigeadail reviews at this point.

10 years ago 0

@Nock
Nock commented

Very nice review @hunggar.

Let me encourage you . . . there is a batch number! But sometimes only the dedicated can find it. I sometimes have to use a flashlight and look for faint impressions of numbers. Often the white can be rubbed off and you have to really strain to see them . . . recently they have been under the work "Limited" on the back of the bottle. But I have found all over the place.

And yes, batch variation is HUGE with Uigeadail. And I think think you might have an extra number or 6 in my review count ;)

Let us know if you find it

10 years ago 0

@hunggar
hunggar commented

Ah, you were right. It was under "limited." They don't make it easy, do they? L12 218 19:01.

10 years ago 0

@Nock
Nock commented

Well done! And welcome to the club. It will be hard to buy a bottle again without first checking for that stupid little code . . . it is a sickness. Thanks, for the review and the batch code!

10 years ago 0

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