Smoky and Sweet: Ardbeg’s An Oa

Over the last several decades, “smoky and sweet” has become an increasingly popular style among Islay’s whisky distillers. The term refers to the practice of maturing or finishing peated whiskies in barrels that previously contained different types of sherry. The practice has since grown to also include other sweet wines.

The result is a whisky that combines the smoke, char and phenolic elements associated with “peat reek” with the sweet, nutty and dried fruit elements typical of sherry. These whiskies offer a multi-layered aroma and taste profile with a long, lingering finish that combines the distinct pepperiness typical of peated whiskies with the sweetness of the sherry. Think of it as an alcoholic version of Szechuan cooking.

Among the standouts of this particular style have been Lagavulin’s Distiller’s Edition and Laphroaig’s PX cask finish. Both expressions are matured (Lagavulin) or finished (Laphroaig) in casks that previously held Pedro Ximenez or PX sherry. PX is a particularly sweet, viscous sherry made from grapes that have been previously raisinated by allowing them to dry in the sun prior to being crushed and fermented. The resulting sherry has pronounced raisin and dried fruit/Christmas cake notes, which it imparts to the whisky being matured.

In one sense there is nothing new about this style. Prior to the widespread adoption of ex-bourbon barrels for maturing whisky in the 1930s, sherry casks were the most common cask used for maturing whisky. Great Britain’s high demand for Spanish sherry, and the historic practice of shipping sherry in cask to be bottled in the UK, meant that there was a large inexpensive supply of ex-sherry casks available to distillers. 19th century Islay whiskies were typically smokier and sweeter than the style that would prevail for much of the 20th century.

Nor has the practice been limited to just sherry casks. Bowmore has released a port cask matured whisky in addition to incorporating sherry cask matured whisky into various expressions. Bruichladdich has an Octomore expression finished in a Sauterne cask and Caol Ila has an expression finished in Muscatel casks, although that expression is not particularly peaty.

Ardbeg has been somewhat late to the smoky and sweet party, although unofficially it has been experimenting with whisky finished in sherry casks for some time. The practice of maturing Ardbeg whiskies in sherry casks, moreover, predates the distillery’s official bottlings. Over the years several specialty bottlers have matured Ardbeg sourced whiskies in sherry casks.

Most notable was the Malts of Scotland bottling of a 1998 Ardbeg, 59% ABV, that had been matured in sherry casks and the Specialty Drinks bottling of a 2000 Ardbeg that had been matured in PX casks. That expression, labeled Elements of Islay, Ar 7, 56.3% ABV, for the seventh bottling of an Ardbeg whisky, was like its Malts of Scotland predecessor, a limited release and remains difficult to find.

Ardbeg has experimented extensively with sherried whiskies in its various Feis bottlings over the last decade. Feis Ile, in Scotch Gallic, refers to Islay’s Festival of Music and Malt. Traditionally, the island’s distilleries would bottle a special expression for sale only during the Feis or festival. Ardbeg’s 2013 Feis bottling, released on Ardbeg Day, traditionally the last day of the festival, was labeled Ardbog. A portion of the malt in Ardbog had been matured in ex-Manzanilla sherry casks. It was bottled at cask strength, 52.1% ABV.

Even rarer is the special bottling released in 2015 for Ardbeg’s 200th anniversary, Ardbeg 1815 Limited Edition, 50.1% ABV. The expression, a mix of 1974 first-fill bourbon and 1975 first-fill sherry, was vatted together in a glass container for six months prior to being released. The whisky carried no age statement, although the distillery confirmed that the youngest whisky in the blend was 33 years old and that it contained even older whiskies. Only 400 bottles were made and they are impossible to find.

Ardbeg 25 YO ‘Lord of the Isles’, 46% ABV, was released by the distillery in 2001. It’s named for the legendary ruler of the Hebrides from the 8th through the 14th century, and whose capital was on Islay. The whisky consists of a blend of 15 percent sherry casks and 85 percent bourbon casks from 1974, 1975 and 1976.

It was not until the release of Ardbeg’s Uigeadail, 54.2% ABV, however, that a sherry influenced malt became part of the Ardbeg core range. Uigedail is named for the Loch Uigeadail, a freshwater lake not far from the distillery. Uigeadail’s blend incorporates about 10 percent first fill Oloroso sherry casks and has a distinctive raisin and dried fruit sweetness.

Ardbeg is releasing a fourth addition to its core range: An Oa (pronounced “an oh”), 46.7% ABV. This is the first addition to the core range in almost a decade. An Oa is the name of the towering cliffs on the Oa peninsula on the southwestern-most point of Islay, on a diagonal opposite Port Ellen.

An Oa carries no age statement and is the first expression from Ardbeg’s new Gathering Vat. The solera inspired vat is designed to allow a variety of casks to mingle prior to being bottled. This expression consists of whiskies that are matured in Pedro Ximenez, ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks.

The distillery did not disclose the age of the various whiskies that go into the blend nor the amount of time that they are allowed to mingle in the Gathering Vat. The implication, however, is that a portion of the vat’s contents will be periodically removed for bottling and new stocks will be added.

Presumably, as the average age of the whisky in the Gathering Vat increases, the quality of the whisky will also improve.

The whisky has a gold color. On the nose, there is the dry smoke and peat that Ardbeg is famous for, but it is less intense than the typical Ardbeg expression. There is a distinctive lemon-citrus note, followed by aromas of tarred rope or tarred wood. There is a bit of a briny tang, like a sea breeze on a warm day, followed by some indistinct dried fruit notes and a hint of nuttiness. In time, a pronounced cereal note emerges that is typical of Ardbeg.

On the palate, there is a pronounced sweetness that steadily builds and that is framed nicely by notes of phenol, iodine and tarred wood. There is a noticeable dried fruit element with hints of raisin, date, fig and even a touch of marzipan, followed by some vanilla notes.

The finish is long, nicely balanced between the sweetness of the dried fruit set against notes of cold smoke and tarred wood and a slightly bitter and peppery note that hangs on the finish. The pepperiness, which is typical of Ardbeg and other highly refluxed peated whisky, is noticeable but lacks the intensity found in other Ardbeg expressions.

This is an excellent whisky. It is sweeter than Uigeadail, but ironically the sherry notes and dried fruit element is not as distinctive. It is nicely balanced, exhibiting all the flavor and aroma elements found in a typical Ardbeg, but the intensity is dialed back.

It’s tempting to refer to An Oa as a “baby Ardbeg” or an “introductory Ardbeg” since it lacks the over the top intensity found in typical Ardbeg expressions. I think that’s a mistake however—a characterization that diminishes An Oa’s distinctive character. Rather, I think it would be better to say that An Oa is a nicely balanced whisky that manages to incorporate many of the flavors and aromas typical of Ardbeg without having any of them dominate the expression.

This is a whisky that any Ardbeg devotee will enjoy, but one that will still appeal to those that have found Ardbeg a bit too intense in the past.

Sláinte