Review: Ardbeg An Oa
Peat fans, consider it your birthday: Ardbeg is announcing a fourth whisky to join its core trio as a permanent addition to the range. Ardbeg An Oa (pronounced “an oh”) is the first new permanent expression from Ardbeg in almost a decade. The expression is named for the southernmost point of Islay, where towering cliffs stand resolute and shelter the southern coast of the island.
An Oa is a unique property drawn from Ardbeg’s new Gathering Vat – “especially created from fine French oak to bring Ardbeg An Oa into being.” Much like Glenfiddich’s Solera Cask, the Gathering Vat lets a variety of casks “mingle” in a large-scale environment. Into this cask go whiskies matured in Pedro Ximénez casks, ex-bourbon barrels, and virgin oak casks. There’s no info on the age of the whiskies that go into the Gathering Vat at the outset, and no information on how long they might stay in the Vat itself. However, the idea seems to be that, in classic Solera style, some of the spirits in the vat will get older and older even as new casks are added to the mix. We’ll have to see how An Oa evolves in the years to come.
For now, anyway, in a lot of ways, this comes across a bit like “starter Ardbeg.” The peat is dialed back on the nose, which allows notes of crisp brine, toasted marshmallow, and hints of nutty sherry to emerge. The palate finds sherry-driven citrus dominating, with tea leaf and a rounded vanilla character creeping up behind it. Peat weaves in and out of all of this, along with notes of grapefruit, gingerbread, and some more raw petrol notes that linger on the finish.
All told, it’s a bit of a melange of flavors that, if not exactly “starter Ardbeg” then at least comes across like “greatest hits Ardbeg” — a mix of this and that that feels at times like a blend of leftovers that didn’t get used in other expressions. That’s not totally a bad thing, really. Infinity bottles are fun for everyone!
93.2 proof.
B+ / $80 / ardbeg.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS] [BUY IT NOW FROM THE WHISKY EXCHANGE]
Ardbeg An Oa
$80
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