Ardbeg Grooves review

Ardbeg Grooves is the brand’s limited edition release of year 2018. It was launched at Feis Ile for Ardbeg Day. The name was inspired by 1960’s hippie era. That’s why you can see in the box the key phrase:

“Peat and love”

Bottled in January 23, 2018 as NAS (non age statement) and matured in combination of bourbon and heavily charred red wine casks. This is the normal version bottled at 46% ABV while the Committee Release was released as stronger 51,6% bottling.

I quite didn’t know what to expect from this. Let’s say my hopes weren’t high stepping into presumably milder and funkier version of Ardbeg. Then again, I really liked Galileo and Auriverdes was good too.

Ardbeg Grooves single malt whisky bottle and package on a pier

Matured in:

Ex-Bourbon and Ex-Wine casks

ABV: 46%

Colour: Amber

Non-chill filtered, no added colour

Nose: Starts with notes of meat and light nutmeg. Sweet leather. Oxidation brings berries and oak. Drops of water makes it sweeter. Sweet peat starts to dominate.

Taste: Red fruits and nuts start the show. Quite quickly red wine is evident, with notes of buttery barley. Oxidation brings tar and peppermint. Drops of water makes it more dry

Finish: Pleasant bonfire with little bit of dryness. Combination of pepper, spices and caramel. Addition of water makes it more fruity.

Balance: Overall, surprisingly good. I didn’t have high expectations, although I thought I could trust Ardbeg to deliver a well combined expression. This managed to be nicely in balance, offering nice mellow notes in strong package.