June 2009
The Thirty-Fourth Edition of "A Whiff of Peat Smoke...." , Why ? because i can !
The Feis Ile is over , Summer is here......
Uigeadail - Pronounced Oog-a-dal
Loch Uigeadail is Ardbegs main source of water , roughly 4Km above the distillery in the hills . Since early 2008 it had been leaking water , so much that in May 2008 the distillery had to nearly stop production ! This May work was commenced to repair the wall and sluice of the loch......
On the morning we arrived on Islay for the festival off the early morning ferry , we headed straight to Ardbeg to pick up some of the Festival Bottlings . While having a cup of tea ( I'd had my welcome dram of Supernova....) Mickey came over for a natter , the conversation got around to the repair work up at the loch , his appearance on the BBC Scotland news and the Helicopter ride up to Uigeadail . He mentioned that he was going up to the Loch on Sunday to inspect the work that had been done so far .When I told him I'd never been up to Uigeadail , even with all the guided walks during previous festivals , he asked me to join him for the trek , i accepted !
Sunday morning came round , weather was overcast but not raining , i met up with Mickey at the distillery at 10am sharp and we set off up the road . Mel and myself had tried to walk up there once before but it turned out we'd took the wrong track ........
The first bit of the walk was fairly easy as it was on a farm track , after a few gates we took the right hand fork (the Left hand one goes to the remains of Solam Village ) and skirted around the ruins of Airigh Nam Beist , a former farm that once belonged to the MacDougall Family , founders of Ardbeg . Once around the Hillock the other water source of the distillery came into View , Loch Iarnan , A beautiful little loch , a good place for a picnic in the summer with Mel , this Loch will be getting some TLC in the not too distant future .
One thing i did enjoy on this little jaunt was getting the chance to have a good chat with Mickey . Talking Ardbeg , Jura , Laphroaig , Islay , family connections to the whisky industry........ Getting back to the walk after leaving Iarnan it started to get hard , leaving behind farm tracks we were now on peat bogs , i've never seen water like it , black and oily . Just above the first loch we followed the hand cut water course around Cnoc Crun na Maoil , it's a work of art , hugging the hillside effortlessly . Eventually we hit a bit of flat land , Mickey took the direct route across here , negotiating Deer herds and Fences ! We eventually hit a track laid out for the builders access , it was hard going , i must admit i was out of breath at times and my calfs were aching but eventually we made it up to the Loch !
The views from Uigeadail were breathtaking , looking down the Isle to the Kildalton House Estate , Across the sea to Kintyre and Gigha with Arran in the Background , further away to the coast of Antrim . Well worth the climb !
After a rest bite and a snack , Mickey checked up on the work and i took some photos , We headed back down to the distillery , which was considerably easier ! Once back at Ardbeg we had a coffee , a slice of really delicious Chocolate cake and a dram of 33.75 ! I really enjoyed the walk , probably the longest and hardest i'ver ever done , the scenery was great , the wildlife stunning and Mickey was the perfect guide !
Mickey Inspecting the Work
Herd of Deer
| 2000 | |||
| Year - 2000 | Age - 9yo | ABV - 58.4%? | |
| Colour - Bright Gold . | |||
| Nose - Very Strong on the nose , tingles the hairs at first , once it opens up you get all the Ardbeg Characteristics......Lemon , creamy Fudge , peat , Chocolate , latte Coffee , Pine nuts , Vanilla...... | |||
| Taste - Gorgeous mouthfeel , smooth and velvety across the palate . Brimming with peat , lemon Citric , Chocolate , Coffee , fudge , a honeyed sweetness as well . Perfectly Balanced ! | |||
| Finish - Long creamy peaty fudgy sweet finish . | |||
| Comments - From a 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Cask . This , in my eyes is the Perfect Ardbeg , So luxurious , perfectly Balanced , i want the cask !!!! | |||
| 1998 | |||
| Year - 1998 | Age - 10yo | ABV - ?% | |
| Colour - Pale Amber . | |||
| Nose - straight away you know this is a sherry cask , Christmas Cake dough , dried fruits , spices , cloves . The peatiness skims across the top and also a slight lemon citrus . After a while it becomes very menthol . | |||
| Taste - Again the "Christmas Cake" is prodominant but at the front of the mouth is Menthol , also a honeyed sweetness , the peat is at the back of the palate . | |||
| Finish - A lovely long , peaty , menthol , sherried finish . | |||
| Comments - From a Refill Sherry Hogshead . i prefer my Ardbegs from ex-bourbon but this sherry cask is superb , shame it goes into Uigeadail as this would stand out on it's own ! | |||
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