Ardbeg Day is less than a week away now (May 30), and while there won't be any major physical events or festivals happening anywhere due to some idiot taking an Ozzy Osbourne impression too far, it still seems like a good occasion (excuse) to enjoy some Ardbeg. The distillery will be doing some virtual tastings and other events online, but that's as close as we'll get for 2020, which also happens to be the 20th anniversary of the Ardbeg Committee. The Ardbeg Committee was formed on New Year's Day in 2000, when these fan club-types of groups - a cynic might call them mailing lists or loyalty programs - were far less common. In fact you'll now be hard-pressed to find a mainstream distillery that doesn't have some sort of member's "inner circle". Ardbeg have done a good job of it though, back in the earlier years you'd receive a booklet on joining that contained the tongue-in-cheek rules & regulations of the committee, plus good information on some of the distillery quirks, and tasting notes on the core range of whiskies, and even a temporary Ardbeg tattoo! And although it's not really the case these days, the early Committee Release bottlings were much more limited in numbers, were actually limited to committee members, and were very difficult to source otherwise. Still, it's a shame that the 20th year of this international assembly of Ardbeg-heads will largely go uncelebrated - at least in any large format. But that doesn't mean that they've pulled their punches on this year's Ardbeg Day special release!
Ardbeg & team have never shied away from experimentation and breaking new ground. And Ardbeg Blaaack is the first Ardbeg release to be fully-matured in wine casks - 2018's Ardbeg Grooves was a mix/marriage/vatting of charred wine casks & ex-bourbon casks. This time they've gone a little further afield - to New Zealand, in fact, about as far from Islay as you can get, where they sourced Pinot Noir red wine casks. The name of this release is both a nod to the grapes that said wine was made from - 'Noir' being French for 'Black' - and also the fact that New Zealand has more than it's fair share of sheep, hence the 'Blaaack'. The glass bottle itself is also black, which I believe is the first time that contemporary Ardbeg has strayed from the usual green - or the occasional clear - bottle for an official release. Pinot Noir is a dry red wine that is prevalent in the Burgundy region of southern France, but is now produced all over the world - although mainly in cooler climates like South Australia, Tasmania and southern New Zealand. It's considered a medium-bodied wine that is lighter in colour and tannins than the heavier red wines like Shiraz / Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The use of ex-Pinot Noir casks is commonplace in Australia, and does seem to be slowly on the rise in Scotch whisky, with Springbank's Burgundy cask and a couple of the Longrow Red bottlings being the more visible examples to date. While Australian whisky drinkers have come to expect a dark colour and aggressive cask influence when dealing with wine casks, it's a little different in Scotland, since unlike the vast majority of Australian distilleries they're using full-sized (225-250 litre) casks and also enjoy a cooler and more stable climate, which along with other factors contributes to slower, steadier and more balanced maturation. So this Ardbeg is far from black in colour, in fact it's visually not too dissimilar from Uigeadail or Corryvreckan, and while certainly present the wine cask influence is not dominant or aggressive - and this whisky is all the better for it, if you ask me.
Ardbeg's special releases always receive their fair share of hate, usually from the 'old guard', and the 'Day' releases often take the lion's share of that negativity. Yes, there are no age statements, the marketing is heavy and can border on annoying, and the bottling strengths are consistently getting lower with each new expression - even in the committee releases. In fact the standard versions of the Ardbeg Day bottlings seem to have settled on 46% ABV, while the committee releases are now in the low-50s - 50.7%, in this case. There's nothing wrong with that in terms of flavour of course, and I understand the economics - lower strength equals more bottles and lower excise & duties - but you could certainly argue that we're now getting less for our money with each year that passes, while the pricing continues to rise. That said, the Committee Releases are still very reasonably priced, in fact they're often priced the same as the standard version at its lower bottling strength - but you do get a box with that one. If you're lucky enough to live in a country where these Committee Releases are made available at all, and are quick enough to beat the resellers & flippers to nab your bottle before they sell out, then you're getting a good deal. Thankfully Australia is one of these lucky countries, and Moet Hennessy Australia do a commendable job of bringing these special releases to the waiting hordes of local Ardbeg fans, unlike many other Scottish distilleries who don't bother at all. As usual the Committee Release of Blaaack sold out very quickly, although there are now listings on plenty of reseller and flipper websites, while the standard version with full packaging & box and lower bottling strength will be released on Ardbeg Day.
So, Ardbeg Blaaack Committee Release, fully matured in ex-New Zealand Pinot Noir casks, is bottled at 50.7%, is non-chill filtered, and as far as I'm aware is naturally coloured - there's no obvious fake tan here, and if I recall correctly Ardbeg do not add & have never added E150a artificial colouring to their single malts, but it's not stated on the packaging. As with every year of these Ardbegs there's no information on the number of bottles in the release, of either this committee release or the standard version. Time for a dram!
Ardbeg Blaaack Committee Release, NAS, 50.7%. Islay, Scotland.
Ardbeg Day 2020 release. Fully matured in ex-New Zealand Pinot Noir wine casks. Non-chill filtered, presumed natural colour.
Colour: Amber.
Nose: Tar, aniseed & red fruits - dried raspberry, black cherry & blackberry jam. Soft warm wood smoke, rich vanilla ice cream and fresh sea salt. Drying kelp, black pepper & hessian sacking (unused bung cloth) with a little earthy peat. More time adds some sandalwood and liquorice.
Texture: Medium weight. Simultaneously rich & creamy and dirty & peaty. No heat at all.
Taste: Creamy rich vanilla ice cream, with a cherry & blackberry swirl, with a few flakes of sea salt. Delicious. Some dried red chilli, warm fresh tar and a drying ashy & spicy peat - much more present here than it was on the nose. A touch of dark chocolate mousse as well.
Finish: Long length. The peat & tar come first, plus the dried red chilli and some black pepper. It's a dirty, ashy & spicy peat here, before it fades and the dram becomes cleaner with that cherry & blackberry ice cream, some liquorice and soft wood smoke. But the tar & spicy peat are the players here.
Score: 4 out of 5.
Notes: It may not be the most complex or peaty/smoky Ardbeg ever, but it's a delicious dram nonetheless. If memory serves it's also the most berry & cherry-forward Ardbeg that I've tasted to date, which is unusual but does make sense given those wine casks are a first. The Ardbeg backbone is still there though, at least on the palate - with the dirty peat, wood smoke and tar never far away - which is a good thing. On the nose they're a little more restrained, but they're still there, although it's a brighter, fruitier Ardbeg overall. Which makes for a refreshing change really - if all of the special releases followed the same script as the core range, what would be the point? The distillery comes up with something different, which can't be easy considering it was actually in the works years prior. And this one is certainly different, but without going as far afield as some of the previous releases.
As far as rankings with the other Ardbeg Day releases, I'd have to put Blaaack somewhere around the middle. For my tastes it can't match the beauty of the Ardbog and the original Ardbeg Day bottling, and is slightly behind Grooves, but equal with Dark Cove. Which also means that it wipes the floor with Drum, Kelpie, Perpetuum and Auriverdes in my book. It's good, and it's certainly worth picking up - at close to the original pricing. As for the 46% version that lands next week, we'll have to wait and see - but based on this Committee Release, I look forward to trying it! Here's to Ardbeg day!
Cheers!
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