Ardbeg Grooves - Committee Release The Ardbeg Committee

Arbe's style is quite distinct, but it's not a particularly pleasant wine.

Nose: Prototypical Ardbeg peatsmoke and salted lemons, mixed with orange peel and red berries. Vanilla icecream and salted caramel. Not too complex, rather mellow and somehow closed nose. Not very impressive but not bad either. A few drops of water and a bit of time help open it up. The orangepeel and berries start to shine now. Inviting!Mouth: Bold arrival. Quite sweet and zesty on orange peel, wood spices and of course some maritime peatsmoke and salted lemons. The fruityness reminds me of classic english orangejam. Develops into more leathery and peppery aromas. Sadly, a rather short finish with some oriental spices like cedarwood, nutmeg and cinnamon. A nice oaky bitterness lingers together with salted lemons.Comments: This one delivers on the palate. While the nose is kinda soft (which is still a good thing), on the palate its a whole different story. A very moreish ‘beg. I think it has lots to offer and is different enough without being too weird (like the marketing suggested). I am happy to have bought it. Much better then last years Kelpie virgin oak desaster. Next year caribbean Arrrdbeg? ;) /88 https://justadram.org/feasting-on-ardbeg-part-1/

the nose was all right. typical Ardbeg with a lot of peat and salt. On the palate this dram was really a stunner. Again a lot of peat, cold ashes, smoke, some hints of bacon and a lot of salt and seabreeze. that was nearly like some octomore. But there was more, dark berries, wine casks developed a nice influence, sweetness, fruity. Finish was long and aromas mingled perfectly. Did not expect too much from this one to be honest. but that bottling is one of the favorites of Ardbeg for me at the moment. Very fine Dram indeed!

The ending note is a bit bitter.

He would have clearly deserved 2 or even 3 points more if the sugar was so ubiquitous. The nose as long as we are patient and that we manage to cross this barrier sweet is clearly well done, sequenced, complete and complex with a beautiful variation of different variants of the peat. I did not taste it diluted.

Typical Ardbeg but rather smooth if not to say a bit weak despite the good abv level - older Ardbegs that were so smooth usually had only 40% abv. Probably some will like it because of its smoothness but overall not so groovy.

sweet and smoky

Dark gold. Thick medium legs. Faint peat. More medicinal. Iodine. Dry rich fruits can smell the wine influence. Dessocated coconut. Very milky Not very powerful taste. Nice mouth feel Very dry not overpowering some peat nice sweet. Not a very long finish.

Better with water for me

Interesting yet smooth Ardbeg bottling. Weaker than I had expected given the 51.6% abv. On that level it doesn't compare well to cask strength Islay whiskies. The wine cask only timidly reveals itself, making it appear less bold in comparison to other recent whiskies that had wine finishes. Very enjoyable to drink for sure, but nothing I'd want to buy a second bottle of.

An Ardbeg in the continuity of the last CRs. Drinking by a large number, beautiful qualities but sometimes too sweet, disgusting.

Nice thing, I like it, but needs water for me. However, my Ardbeg favorites remain the 10s (from the hip flask and a body temperature a poem) and the Uigeadail.

Metal, mastic, charcoal, varnish, paint, mineral, black pepper, medicine, oak bark, charred wood, peanuts, smoked sausage, rum, caramel, corn flakes, herbs, mint and raspberry leaf!

Conclusion and pictures on: https://tomtrinkt.de

What the hell, Ardbeg? Did you guys taste this before putting it out? I understand what the nose is trying to do (differentiate itself from other Islay or peated products by trying to taste a bit like something from a bygone era) and I though it was okay or good even, but on the palate this just doesn't work at all. My scoring reflects the fact I'd rather drink Blasda, my previous bottom scorer for Ardbeg bottlings from the 21st century, than this oddly thin-bodied weakling.

Quite a nice Ardbeg bottling with some winy expressions in combination with oranges. Concerning price/performance ratio: 7/10

Red fruits, white pepper, iodine, textbook ardbeg, not bad at all

A horizontal tasting of Ardbeg Fermutation WB183225, Grooves WB108836, and Scorch WB182095. S 7 I guess this is a longer red wine finish.

Finally, Ardbeg has managed a convincing new litter again, although the departure is very idiosyncratic with different bitternotes. The grooves should be enjoyed undiluted. Actually, he should be called "The machinist" - "The machine operator".

the CS version with personally more smoked bacon, more sugar too and less peat present than usual at this distillery: it is almost too easy to drink, but the scents are dispersed however faster too! the wood is there, the caramel particular, it reminds somewhere of the sweet and caramelized BBQ sauce, the peat becomes smokier at the end of the glass!

I don’t understand what you can write about here ... sweet smoke in a wine barrel. Why such a price is not clear to me (at the moment from 200 euros)

Herbs, a hint of meat, ink, some slightly overripe fruit—it's very characteristic of Abe, but unfortunately, there aren't many flavors. However, it's still okay; it doesn't have the messy, unpleasant flavors of red wine barrels. It's simple to drink and pure peat.

Nose: surprisingly discreet rather ashen smoke, salty bacon, paprika, pepper, but also the typical Ardbeg sweetness is present, sweet and sour orange peel, a hint of freshly sawn wood. Not bad, even pretty tasty and own but it lacks a bit of power despite> 50%. Taste: very sweet on, again orange peel, vanilla, nice spicy smoke, then pepper and back paprika chips and a nice salty note. The medium-long finish reveals again the peppery oak, ashy smoke and then an interesting mix of sweet citrus with some salt sprinkled on it and fleshy flavors. Conclusion: the nose is most interesting this very own whisky. Really untypical. The rest is then more in the direction of Ardbeg but without losing the independence too much. Better than the An Oa but not quite worth the hype and price.

Balance sheet (21) Young and Cheeky (86)

Not bad, I can feel it’s quite young but not mono dimensional. Modern Ardbeg!

+++

I really like it! The nose is wonderfully complex and reveals how it came to the name =

Wow - I am impressed! A strong, full-bodied Ardbeg with a great combination of peat, smoked bacon and sweet fruit notes. Nicely complex, warming and full-bodied. An excellent taste experience in which the finish could have been a bit longer. But I liked it very much and to me, this is a very successful Ardbeg Committee bottling. https://www.whisky-connaisseur.de/2018/04/19/ardbeg-grooves-committee-release/

Very exciting bottling! I like it.

Can not complain at all. Again a slightly different Ardbeg - but in any case an Ardbeg. Beautiful accents in the nose and on the tongue through the orange notes.

In particular, this year's comite filling shows a clear orange-reddish touch, an indication that more wine / sweet wine barrels may have been involved? We'll see ... The start with quite fruity and sweet hints, surrounded by the typical Ardbegrauch, which is not overpowering here, immediately show the direction, which was conceived here. The eccentricity, which one would like to associate with the groovigen name, opens up to me, however, not really. In my opinion, the notes are very clear and typical Arbeg. Ripe pears and apples, freshly baked cinnamon rolls and marzipan, medicinal smoke, some red wine in the background make my nose an absolute experience and certainly reflect the strongest part of the groove again. In the mouth, vanilla-smoky notes gain the upper hand, the alcohol, barely noticeable in the nose, makes itself easily noticeable, but is acceptable to me. Pepper and wood notes introduce bitterness. The medicinal smoke is moderately pronounced and leaves room for dry spice and wine tannins. The finish is medium in length, the palate remains dry. Pepper, nutmeg and smoke warm for a long time. I think this bottling really well done, the nose represents for me the highlight of this bottling, in total about on one level or even better than the last Uigedails, which I had in the glass. € 100, considering the limitation, I think is extremely fair and reasonable. Probably the one who has a bottle at home, tip: open it tastes much better! 89 points

Another NAS with doctored funny casks and once again less interesting than the core range. The nose is not bad but the palate is uninteresting.

https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2019/05/17/feis-ile-2018-ardbeg-day-excise-house-tasting/ Backstage, friends & professionals alike were pouring the Grooves Committee Release. If I may?! C: More distillate-slick/less dry than the standard release with a slightly longer form, all helped no doubt by the abv bump. Overall though, there’s very little in it in comparison to the standard release.

Not really a hit, but then this taste comes in the mouth. Really something special. Unfortunately, the nose and finish cannot keep up. I like him!

Tasted at the Utrecht Whisky Tasting Festival, so these are just my jotted down notes from the day. Another fantastic dram, that reminds me of the more recent BizarreBQ and that I would love to have on my shelf. Unfortunately this bottle is just slightly over budget nowadays…

Nose: spices, cummin, tar, danky, loads of tar like the dirty begs, lots of spices, Mouth: Sweet peat like how ardbegs are, cherries, bbq sauce, into dry minty ash, almost like curry Finish: mid to long savior chocolate, bbq sauce, chocolate raisins, ash 91 I'm bias as this is how I fall in love with ardbeg years ago, it's special everytime I have it.

Great, I like it very much. At the first quick test after the purchase he had failed for me. Impressive again and again what can be the form of the day.

On the nose, a strong spicy peat washed down with bourbon. Vanilla, caramel, icing sugar, a touch of mint. It's fresh, slightly woody, spicy. The palate is very charcoal, the peat explodes, a touch of salt, white fruits, plums and grapes, licorice, then the pepper comes out, imposing itself with a beating to lead to a rather timid and a little short finish, with a hint of caramel, heather and nuts. Licorice, anise and mint in retro-olfaction. It's far from bad but it doesn't deserve the crazy prices at which it is sold. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2020/06/ardbeg-grooves-committee-release.html

Nose: acidic, light tar, wood fire mixed with bacon. The smoke note subsides over time. That's what vanilla comes for. Hints of mead or honey, a smoky sweetness with your woody note. Apple sweetness, but also some brewing powder in the background. The alcohol is very well integrated. Taste: Ashy when starting, becomes creamy. Vanilla sweetness occupies the mouth. Coffee and cocoa flavors are spreading. The ashy aftertaste remains and turns into strong smoke. Finish: medium length. The ashes are sustainable.

The best Ardbeg of my whisky career! I celebrate this board!

Water: none, that's just right! Conclusion: I think that's really great. Maybe the meaty paprika note comes out of me only because I've read about it before. Nonetheless, he is simply a slightly different Ardbeg. The composition is consistent in itself, he is no longer overly young, but well-matured. The red wine is also good, especially after the first sips. The alcohol content fits perfectly. He has strength but is not too strong. Maybe he lacks a bit of complexity, but he makes up for it by the sometimes more unusual for Ardbeg aromas. For me next to the Dark Cove and the alligator of one of the best Ardbegday committee releases - 88 points

It's unmistakably an Ardbeg - especially on the olfactory bulb! Pretty sweet in the nose and the typical Ardbeg campfire, cold smoke, ashes .. On the palate, the grooves comes strong, it has neat smoke and warms the neck. A presumably 6-10-year-old drop that is not all that complex, but just right if it's just right for the prey theme. On the tongue and cheeks, it is then a bit sweet and sour smoky; like caramelized lemons. I know, there's no such thing - but hey, everything is possible in the whisky world .... I think that you can taste the wine barrel, because on the palate, too, there is a certain acidity that I associate with the wine! However, that's always easy to say, if you approach it with prejudice and know the type of maturation ... Blind tastings open your eyes, it means - but in this case, I just knew what I have in the glass ... Despite the young age, I even have the oak on the palate and the finish ... .. and this slightly musty, as I know it from older European oaks! The finish is quite long, warming, spicy, a bit burnt flesh, subtle caramel notes and (clear) fat smoky ... Breathing through my nose, I have behind the smoke load again and again this musty wood, which I like. Yes, it goes without water - but I could imagine that the grooves in drinking strength with 5% less alcohol here will have a lot of catching up to do ... That's why if I groove, then certainly only the Committee .... My conclusion: the grooves is 'just fine' (for the price). However, I find the Corryvreckan for 60 € (ok different profile, but still) not less good - so the somewhat restrained conclusion. I can give 88 points, if I simply rate the whisky for his skill and my taste - the price has lost nothing in this system ... Whether you pay now 100 ¬ for it ...? Well let's say so; As an Ardbeg junkie or smoke fan you can make sure ... The limitless complexity but looking in vain. The groover is more like the kick; the punch, the smoke in combination with the sweetness in the nose, the saltiness on the tongue and the tart taste on the palate. So, I already drank a lot of shit - the grooves are not one of them!

Oh yes, I really like the grooves! The classic Ardbeg character is beautifully integrated here in creamy-soft vanilla and honey notes and is wonderfully complemented by a Bruichladdich-typical mustiness, exotic fruit notes and an interesting pepper BBQ influence. Who could get this Ardbeg for the original price, can be lucky in my opinion, in any case!