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.