Uigeadail (pronounced ‘Oog-a-dal’) is Gaelic for “a dark, mysterious place.”
Named after the distillery’s water source, this whisky is a marriage of sweetness, spice and deep smokiness.
The peat-laden waters of Loch Uigeadail provide the smoky tones in this whisky, while maturation in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks imparts rich, warm flavours – perfect for a dramatic, stormy night.
But the true secret behind Ardbeg Uigeadail's success? A unique vatting method that marries the deep, smoky notes from ex-bourbon American oak with the luscious, raisin-like character of ex-sherry Oloroso casks.
Nose: Multifaceted, notes of peat and little flourishes of dark sugar, freshly ground espresso beans, cereal notes and a most sophisticated tar.
Palate: Led by sweet, ripe fruit and black forest honey. A good helping of malt. The throne then usurped by a powerful peat and smoked barley.
Finish: Very long, caramel and malt weave their way through peat smoke and dark sugar and just a hint of fresh espresso coffee before it finally peters out.
Massive yet tiny. Loud yet whispering. Seemingly ordinary from the bottle, yet unforgettable. It is snowing outside my hotel room in the Calgary, yet the sun, in my soul at least, is shining. I came across this bottling while lecturing the Liquor Board of British Columbia in Vancouver on May 6th 2008, so one assumes it is a tasting for the first time thee Old Malt Cask 1975 at a tasting in Denmark. There is no masking genius. The only Scotch to come close to this one is another from Ardbed, Corryvreckan. That has more oomph and lays the beauty and complexity on thick....it could easily have been top dog. But this particular Uigeadail (for I have tasted another bottling this year without pen or computer to hand and therefore unofficially which was a couple of points down) offers something far more restrained and cerebral. Believe me: this bottling will be going for thousands at auction in the very near future, I wager. 54.2%
- Jim Murray
Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2016
The World's Leading Whisky Guide