Ardbeg Uigeadail ... worth the price ?

@LeBudfrumHull I look forward to any input on this one as well. Here in Vancouver I can pick it up for $134 CDN. But as you say for that price one can pick up 2 great single malts.

I would rate a couple of drams as better value for money, and sure you could buy two good single malts for that price, but the Uigeadail isn't a good whisky, it isn't even a great whisky, in my opinion it is one of ~THE~ great whiskies. One proviso though - make sure you don't dislike the big peaty Islay malts, as it is does have all the peat, smoke and salt you would expect from a big Islay malt. But if you like peat and smoke, then you have to buy the Uigeadail at least once, it is brilliant.

@jdcook

Well... I like Laphroaig & Lagavulin, so peat & smoke is not a problem, it's a quality ! Since I don't see Ardbeg Uigeadail in the liquor stores very often, when I saw it , my first instinct was to buy it., but the elevated price stopped me in my tracks. Hey , if it's as good as you say it is , I'll pick it up a bottle and let you know my impressions. Thanks for the response

Hi there @LeBudFromHull: When I travel between Spain and the UK I always pick up a nice bottle of whisky to share with good friends. This time I've got the Uigeadail in my sights at a penny under £40 the bottle. But I have to confess I find the prospect of turning my friends on to Ardbeg just a little daunting. Much as I love the peaty reek of most Islays, Ardbeg seems to make a virtue of being a more hairy-backed, tar-knuckle-dragging, seaweed-festooned Islay than all the others put together. And the tasting notes for Uigeadail tend towards the seriously weird; if memory serves me, Jim Murray talks about "slightly overdone roasted potato" on the nose (!). If you're not an Ardbegian already, I'd try the 10yo first to sample the house style before arm-wrestling with the more expensive Ardbegs. All that said, I've a little shiver of anticipation at the thought of pouring my first dram of Uigeadail.

@Kalekas

Thanks for the reply . Just so you know, I have tasted the Ardbeg 10 year and really liked it ...so, I went and picked up a bottle of Uigeadail today. I haven't opened it yet, but I will be tasting it soon, REAL soon ! ..;>)

Nice, let us know your thoughts!

I would simply add that if you have your whisky neat as I do, wait two or three drams before judging, it is 54% and really has a big depth of flavors that will reveal and open gradually...but it is worth the price! Sure! Out of curiosity, here in italy it is priced 59 euro, exactly equal to the aberlour abunadh...

Since the bottle has been bought, I won't add any comment. I will simply add that although here in Quebec it is 145$, one can buy it for 75$ or 80$ in New York if you happen to go there. It is THE best Ardbeg I have ever tasted and it makes me seek for any Peated Islay finished in Sherry Cask because it is this particularity that makes Uigeadail so special. I ended up buying a bottle of Lagavulin 16 Distiller's Edition, which follows the same principle. It is great also. In fact, I made a comparative tasting a few weeks ago between Uigeadail and Lagavulin DE. As good as Uigeadail is, the Lagavulin DE is more powerful, but this could have been caused by the fact that the latter bottle was newer. Both are great whiskies and both have the peated taste with a nice fruity background taste. It is a matter of what peat do you prefer. A gave the winning dram to Lagavulin DE because of its power and longer lasting finish, but in that comparative tasting, both could have been declared winners.
Both are sold 145$ in Quebec and both can be found between 70-80$ in NYC. Finally, both should be bought and enjoyed...

So I finally opened it. (and it's about time !) I looked through the comments that have been posted and my first impression is that I hope that lucadanna is right... my first nosing and tastes haven't really wowed me, but I'm very impressed on how long the taste lasts .... jeez, it just goes on and on ... This scotch just oozes quality. @ lucadanna1985 - I drink my scotch neat too so I'll take your advice and try a few more drams before I do my own review of this Scotch... but so far I can't say that it's the best one I've ever tasted. @ Kutter - I've also had the Lagavulin 16 Distiller's Edition, and it is also my benchmark as which other whiskeys are judged. I rec'd it as a Christmas present last year and the bottle didn't last very long...;>)

It's really an excellent Ardbeg, but I probably would not buy it again unless I found it at a good price at a duty free. I read somewhere, (maybe on ralfy.com) that 1/4 Uigeadail with 3/4 of the 10 yr. old makes a really good dram. That would be one way to make a very expensive malt last a lot longer. The Uig. retails at $134.00 in BC Canada. I bought one because of all the good reviews. I just got a litre of 10 yr. old Ardbeg at a duty free for $48.00 US. It retails here for $94.00 Can. for a 750 ml. bottle.

Oh, yes. Oh -hell- YES. Uigeadail will give you religion (please forgive the expression). Really, it's an incredibly powerful and wonderful example of what Islay can deliver. A classic Ardbeg.

If you're looking for a powerhouse Ardbeg that's an alternative to Uigeadail, that is, the ones that are in the same general class (ABV, raw power), seek out Corryvreckan, Supernova, and Rollercoaster. I doubt that you'll find any of them for less than the cost of Uigeadail, but try them if you can.

Also, once you try Uigeadail, you'll want to try them all. I recommend buying two bottles at once because once you crack one open, the anxiety of having less than a full bottle will make you want to go right out and get another, as a backup, if you don't.

I hope I haven't been too understated in my enthusiasm for Uigeadail!

Slainte,

Rus

@LeBudfrumHull You ought to try some water with it. Really, 54% ABV hides a lot of Uigeadail's qualities from you. Add a bit of water and let it open up. You'll be impressed with the impact on the nose and the palate. If you can't bring yourself to add water to it, have a sip of water between each sip of whisky and you'll get some of the same effects.

@LeBudfrumHull, I'm not sure if you read my review here (connosr.com/reviews/ardbeg/…), but I'm glad to read you got yourself a bottle. I'm sure you'll be blown away - I know I was. Have you ever tried Correyvreckan? For me, that's the only Ardbeg that beats the Uigeadail (but I haven't tried the Supernova yet...). Slàinte!

I was tempted on the Corryvreckan, but here in Beautiful British Columbia it is $146.00. Seems a lot for a young malt. If it shows up at a duty free sometime I'll grab one, but not at our rip off prices. I am at this moment trying the 1/4 Uigeadail ti 3/4 Ten year old blend, and I must say, it's very smooth and tasty. I just added a little water, but I would not do that again. It was just fine without. I think Ralfy is onto something here.

I'm on my second tasting and it's really starting to open up...it's much better than my first impression. There's so much going on in this whiskey that it's almost impossible to pin down. I started the evening with a GlenDronach 12 year , then went for the Uigeadail ... as nice as the GlenDronach is , it doesn't hold a candle to the Ardbeg. It's at a completely different level.

Wow... I'm really looking forward to my third dram !

@BlueNote Yeah its been quite a culture shock moving from New York to Vancouver when it comes to prices. Uigeadail and Corryvreckan both a big jump in price from what I would be used to. Hopefully I will be able to pick them up on my travels.

I purchased a bottle of Uigeadail yesterday from a shop in Aboyne for £54. From what I've heard about the whisky I think this is a decent amount to pay. The truth will out when I decide to taste it of course. Which, by the way, will be no time soon.

@LeBudfrumHull Which "two very good single malts" can you get for for $144.00 CDN ? I was in Quebec for a month last summer and a Lagavulin 16 (the basic, albeit excellent, expression) was $106 CDN at the SAQ and the Talisker 10 was not far behind. In the context of these horrifying prices (compared to Europe), $144.00 CDN for Ardbeg Uigeadail is not so surprising.

In Michigan, USA, you cannot purchase many of the exceptional whiskies, such as Compass Box and Ballantines 17. But surprisingly, MI is giving us a deal on Uigeadail at only 75 USD (plus about 7% sales tax), and A'bunadh is 64 USD. Makes me want to run out an pick up a case! My sympathies to the Canadians, where the USD/CDN exchange rate is now close to 1:1.

@AboutChoice, actually it's not a "Canadian" problem (i.e. one of exchange rates), but a government-controlled monopoly problem. In Québec, where alcohol sales are under complete government control, the Uigeadail is $144, but in Alberta, where alcohol sales are privatized, it runs closer to $100 (likewise for the Airigh Nam Beist and the Corryvreckan). Here in Ontario, another government-run alcohol monopoly, the Ardbeg Ten goes for $100! It's an absurd markup, supposedly among the highest in the world. It's extremely frustrating.

@dbk, I was hoping you would pop in to expound. Same problem in the US ... regarding liquor, each state has a different system and degree of government control. Since not so much whisky comes from Canada in general, I wonder if some provences are more sensitive to the "buy Canadian" issue, and thereby impose higher duties on imported goods ... or maybe it is merely a "vice tax", like cigarettes?

I suppose we North Americans need to reassess our priorities, and consider relocating to the UK, or thereabouts ... where whisky flows like water :-) Any thoughts from the Europeans as to where we might best settle, as whisky immigrants, assuming you would have us ?

@AboutChoice you should come to Italy! :) I bought ardbeg 10 for 39 euro, uigeadail for 59, teacher's blend for a ridicolous 10 euro and so grant's one...my last purchases were a strathisla 12 for 19 euro and a bushmill's 10 yo malt for 23! :)

@lucadanna1985, and here I thought Italy was wine country ... I will put Italy on my wishlist ! :)

Here in Quebec, it is a vice tax for sure and also a corrupted government monopole. The Canadian dollar goes up, the Euro goes down and yet the wine prices doesn't drop even if the SAQ makes a 30% discount on currency. The SAQ is one of the biggest wine importer in the world allowing them to negotiate good prices. Nevertheless, we pay the same wine bottle sometimes 50% more than a private retailers in the Vermont. It all about profit and the customers do not benefit from this. Even if SAQ has not the same weight on the whisky market, one can conclude that profit is still the leitmotiv. Ardbeg Ten at 100$ is ridiculous. When I went to New York a few months ago a stopped at the Canadian border duty free store (the one from Canada). I bought a Laphroaig 10 for 37$ for a liter. I could not believe it. The Laphroaig 10 is not even sold in Quebec and if it would, it would be close to the Ardbeg 10 for sure.

Anyway, this discussion is taken a route way off the initial intent....

I did a comparative match between Uigeadail and Lagavulin DE. The latter won in my opinion. More powerful, better nose and balance. However, the final of the Ardbeg is the best and it has a good complexity. It was an interesting tasting and it was the first time I was trying two whiskies at the same time. To be repeated...

@Kutter, that was interesting info. There is a dusty old discussion on comparisons, which you might want to add to: connosr.com/wall/discussion/…

And if fact, many good long-forgotten discussions on Connosr (see Discussions, then All Discussions)

@Kutter Same here in Vancouver B.C that its pretty much a vice tax. While the conversation went a little off topic I could not believe reading about the prices in Italy. Should have kept my eyes closed as its going to be hard to shell out $144 for the Uigeadail now!!....maybe??

@RoganFox I feel the same thing. I cannot pay 100$ for a Ardbeg 10 or 145$ for the Uigeadail or Lagavulin DE. I would simply live without them... The good news is that I happen to do some business trips or vacation trips outside Canada. I use those occasions to buy those bottles. For examples, you can find Uigeadail/Lagavulin DE for 70$ in New Jersey or New York. And Ardbeg 10 at 37$ in New Jersey.

@olivier Well, to name a few : Talisker , Highland Park , AncNoc , Aberlour , GlenFiddich 15 year etc ... They don't have the same profile as the Uigeadail , but no one can say that they're lousy malts. Ardbeg seems to be THE scotch these days.

@dbk The markup in Ontario for liquor is higher than in Quebec , but it's the opposite for wine. But if I want to but Laphroig Quarter Cask , I get it in Ontario . I've never seen it in Quebec ... ;>(

BTW - I was looking through the SAQ catalogue for available scotches and I saw something that really caught my eye ... I could get a bottle of GlenFarclas 25 year for $8.00 less than the Uigeadail .... really made me think . I'm going to look up some reviews on the GlenFarclas to see if I missed out .