Groovy is a term that disappeared from common vernacular. In fact, were it not for Mike Myers and the Austin Powers films, there would be several generations now that would be completely unaware of its application. Groovy became cool; cool became hot; and hot became cool again. Meanwhile, some distilleries got on with churning out delicious whisky.
“Grooves” is the name of this year’s annual Ardbeg Day release, and the marketing and imagery that accompanies it is the 1960’s hippy era of peace and love. “Peat and love” is thus the key phrase here and Ardbeg Day celebrations around the world will be based on this very theme.
Previous Ardbeg Day releases may possibly have had to stretch a little for the link between the liquid, how it was made, the name, and the marketing theme. Kelpie, Dark Cove, and Perpetuum being good examples. However, Grooves is a little more tangible. For Grooves is Ardbeg that has been matured in ex-wine casks that have been intensely charred to form heavy grooves in the surface of the wood. That might sound a little like “Alligator”, the famous Ardbeg release of yesteryear that employed heavy barrel charring. But the story behind Grooves possibly cuts a little deeper (pun intended) than the official press release might have you believe…
Whisky & Wisdom had a sneak peek at Grooves a few weeks ago, attending a bespoke and intimate tasting event with Dr Bill Lumsden whilst in Christchurch, NZ, for DramFest. Dr Bill, the man behind Glenmorangie’s and Ardbeg’s whiskies, mentioned in passing that the casks used for Grooves were sourced from Brown Forman. Those who know their Tennessee whiskies might recall that Brown Forman were behind Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select…a whiskey made in barrels that had a series of rigid grooves cut into the inside of the casks’ staves after the charring. This thus brings the maturing spirit into contact with both charcoaled oak and the freshly exposed oak – adding complexity and a “dual” oak type to the maturation process. It’s effectively two different cask types for the price of one.
The official PR from Ardbeg makes no mention of grooves being physically routed into the casks by machine (you can Google images of “Sinatra Select barrels” to appreciate what the staves look like), but – when the question was put to Dr Bill about the provenance and history of the casks – one couldn’t help but notice a wry smile and a glint in his eye as he neither confirmed nor denied the connection.
(To clarify, I’m not implying the casks used for Grooves previously matured the Sinatra Select spirit – after all, Ardbeg readily acknowledge the casks used are ex-wine casks, not ex-Tennessee whiskey casks – but the fact that Brown Forman were the source behind both does encourage one to make certain conclusions.)
So, with all that as background, how does Ardbeg Grooves actually behave? Is it genuinely groovy, or is it a boring square? Whisky & Wisdom sat down with a sample of the Committee Edition, bottled at 51.6% ABV. For a true assessment and comparison, a dram of Ardbeg’s regular 10yo was also at hand, in order to assess the impact of the wine casks and the cask treatment.
Ardbeg Grooves
Nose: Taking the smoke out of the equation for a moment, the nose is instantly fruity, and – maybe it’s psychosomatic – but there’s an extra injection of vanilla and toasted oak. There’s a wonderful woodiness to this, but it shares the spotlight with raspberry jam and cream served on dark bread. There’s an extra kick of sweetness on the nose, compared with the 10yo.
Palate: The palate is oily, viscous, and exudes rich dark fruits that are heavily soaked in dank peat. There are hints of stonefruit (dark peaches?) but it’s drier on the palate and the oak lends a firm base that accents the dry smoke. If Laphroaig typically offers a green, mossy, bonfire smoke, then Ardbeg Grooves offers up a sandier, drier bonfire that’s taking place on the beach using old, salt-laden hardwood timbers. The 10yo is sweeter and “cleaner”, possibly seeming more refined. The Grooves is more rustic, dirtier, and – in a very pleasing way – more bombastic.
Finish: Long, drying, lots of smoky ash, and with slight sappiness that keeps your tastebuds happy and salivating for another sip.
Comments: This is a loud Ardbeg. Of course, the Committee Edition is bottled at 51.6%, so the higher ABV will always turn up the volume. Whisky & Wisdom also tasted the regular commercial release with Dr Bill Lumsden a few weeks earlier and, whilst that was bottled at the lower 46%, it certainly still had a boost from the active wood. It’s a tasty, juicy release that gives us another marker on the Ardbeg spectrum. Full marks to the Ardbeg team.
– – – – – – –
It’s not often that Whisky & Wisdom gets up on a soapbox, but this might also be an opportune moment to direct a few words to the Ardbeg dissenters out there. Haters gonna hate, and that’s a part of life, but I’ve been disappointed to read the negativity directed towards the Ardbeg Day release(s) by so many who haven’t even tasted the whisky. Many of these comments appear to be the bleatings of an entitled sector of consumerville who seem to think the industry owes them something.
If you happen to like heavily peated whisky from Islay, then your options are pretty limited – there simply ain’t that many distilleries! People either lose sight of the fact – or are too ignorant to educate themselves – that Ardbeg is a relatively small distillery with a small and limited capacity. It also had a very chequered history from 1983-1997, and so there’s not a huge back-catalogue of aged stock to play with. Which means a lot of stock being produced now has to be laid down and left alone to build up the inventory that will become tomorrow’s 17yo and 21yo expressions.
Ardbeg is doing well to have a small but – flavour-wise – quite diverse core range: A wonderfully consistent 10yo; Uigeadail; Corryvreckan; and the new-on-the-scene An Oa. If Ardbeg is your cup of tea, then the annual Ardbeg Day release is actually a rare and fantastic opportunity to try Ardbeg in a different light and with a different interpretation. This is something that should be celebrated. After all, may I remind the misguided that it was only as recently as 15 years ago that many distilleries only had one or two expressions available, and that was it! We’re in privileged times when Ardbeg can deliver a new interpretation every twelve months. Instead, Ardbeg Day sees whingers whine about no-age-statements or one-word names for the expressions, or they take cynical pot shots at the marketing behind it all. Or they complain about the price of the bottling. Sadly and pathetically, all this negativity usually comes from people who comment before they’ve even tasted the juice! Or worse still, they’ve decided in their head they don’t want to taste the juice, but they’ll happily slander it anyway. We live in strange times.
If you’ve tasted a whisky and it didn’t please your tastebuds, then you’re entitled to share your experience. It doesn’t necessarily make it bad or inferior whisky, but we’ll all accept and respect that you didn’t care much for the spirit. That’s fine – it contributes to the rich and diverse tapestry of the globe’s whisky enthusiasts’ community. But to criticise a new release – from any distillery – that you haven’t tasted on the basis of its label, its name, price or its lack of an age statement is simply being uninformed and petulant.
Ardbeg Grooves is a good whisky. It’s a good expression of Ardbeg; it’s a different expression of Ardbeg; and it’s a good, peaty whisky in its own right that should please most Islayphiles. I, for one, will be celebrating Ardbeg Day, and acknowledging that this distillery is doing wonderful things after coming back from the dead.
Cheers,
AD
Whisky & Wisdom has written more on Ardbeg, including several distillery profile pieces and write-ups of other Ardbeg whiskies. You can read these by clicking directly on the links below:
Ardbeg Perpetuum
Ardbeg Dark Cove
Ardbeg Kelpie
Ardbeg An Oa
Ardbeg Supernova 2014
Ardbeg Untamed
