Review #270 – Ardbeg Wee Beastie

Review #270 – Ardbeg Wee Beastie

Review #: 270
Description: Ardbeg Wee Beastie
Spirit: Scotch

Background: One of the newer, standard bottlings from the Islay distillery, Wee Beastie, as the name implies, is a young, but supposedly powerful whisky.  Typically, younger peated whisky is a bit more in your face with the smoke influence on the malt.  This single malt is 5 years old, aged in ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks and bottled without chillfiltration at 47.4%.  Those stats sound nice for a $50 bottle so let’s see if it lives up to it.

Distillery – Ardbeg

Bottler – Ardbeg

Brand – Ardbeg

Selection – N/A

ABV – 47.4%

Age – 5 Years

Nose – Smokey chocolate, sweet bbq sauce, vanilla, butterscotch, a little bit of tart citrus keeps it balanced
Taste – Vanilla frosting, toffee, cream, butterscotch, raisins, cream, almost a bit waxy
Finish – Peat smoke slowly rises in, black pepper, toasted nuts, earthy fruits linger

Score: 6
Would I buy a bottle? Yes

Thoughts:  I’m actually pretty surprised with this.  I kind of expected this to be a bit brash and in your face, yet it really ended up being pretty balanced.  I think the bourbon casks are pretty prominent but the oloroso is definitely there and has a nice impact.  The growing heat in the finish was a nice change from some of the hard hitters I’ve recently had.  The proof sits in a nice spot, and with the price, this is pretty hard to beat if you are looking for a smokey, Islay single malt.  I’ll definitely be looking for a bottle to add to my bar.

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