Powerfully peaty and immensely satisfying, Ardbeg's Corryvreckan is what happens when the distillery of Islay's Kildalton Coast aims to make a whisky with a particularly medicinal style than its usual expressions. Aptly named after a nearby whirlpool, Corryvreckan is an intense dram that we simply love.
Sticking plasters, buttery, creamy, roast chicken crisps, herbal, almost a hint of pine…
Cream, spices, tingling, fresh fruit, medicinal, plasters, Clementines. Orange peels.
Salty, more medicinal, smoked meats, peat is fleeting, tarmac, chilli, salt.
Astonishing.
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When I first tasted the Corryvreckan, I thought it was overpowering and as a result, I preferred the the Uigeadail. Now half way through the bottle, I have to say that this is now in my top 3 along with Laphoaig 10 and Lagavulin 16. This one is intense and mouthwatering.
I agree that batch variations can be huge in single malt world. But I think that's not a case with Corryvreckan. One thing to consider with these dense and cask strength malts is decanting. Very few whisky connoisseur talk about it. I haven't heard Jim Murray mention the decanting. Just pour the whole bottle into very clean container. Leave it for about an hour then pour back it to the bottle. I will notice the difference before and after. It will open up the whisky and brings out the best qualities of the malt. If it's a bad malt, you will notice that too. This may not be a solution what the previous commentator mentioned, but one thing to consider.
Let me tell u of the six Corryvreckans I have bought in my life. The first I cant remember much about. I was new to Islay whisky and everything with smoke and peat in it was interesting. The second and third transported me to a beach where I had lit a small fire next to a pier that had just been pained with tar.I was barbecuing. Amazing, Corryvreckan is my favorite whisky I thought. The fourth and fifth rudly thew into a sour, unbalanced rhubarb field where angry chinamen tried to make me taste their sweet and sour sauce. The sixth is still on my shelf, unopened. It will determine if I will buy any more corryvreckans at all. If there is a 50/50 chance of a whisky being good or bad...its not worth my money no matter how good it can be half the times.
Color: Rich amber - if it wasn't Ardbeg I'd assume there were caramel coloring in the liquor. It's deceiving, as this whisky does not have a very significant depth of flavor or nose. Nose: Iodine, rum spices, sherry and dried fig or other sweet fruits, and perhaps banana? Caramel, and other sweet notes that are nostalgic of Christmas. Heavy notes of salt water, peat, smoked salmon, and other ocean smells - these almost overpower the sweetness of the nose, and make the malt a distinctly salty affari. Hints of burnt marshmallow and molasses, with a very medicinal character. The iodine and lacquer smells seep through the saltiness and burn the nose a little - there is not a strong alcoholic nose. Taste: Strong iodine, heavy smoke, with a peated note that is very subdued - very much reminds me of a Norwegian style smoked salmon, with a heavy flavor of dill and lemon? Does not have any sweetness or sherried notes that are found in the nose; this is a distinctly smokey and salty malt. The drink immediately numbs the tongue and the throat in a much stronger way than the Uigeadail or other peated malts I've enjoyed - I did not find this to be a desirable taste. Most of the flavor is found in the front of the palate, and do not linger around. There is a saltiness and seawater flavor that stays in the very back of the throat for a long while, but this is not as enjoyable when the malt is not tempered with the sweetness of the Uigeadail. The Corryvrecken is a very expensive bottle of scotch, which I feel is inferior to the Uigeadail as it lacks all of the sweetness and balance. If you were to match this scotch with a salty meal, like a salmon fillet, it would probably augment the flavors of the meal; otherwise, I think this is a rather unpleasant sipping scotch - it makes me physically thirsty for a tall glass of cold water. If you're really looking for an Islay without sweetness, but that is more enjoyable, I would recommend the Lagavulin 18 as it has many of the smoky and salty characteristics of the Corryvrecken, without overpowering your palate - particularly if you're already set on spending over a hundred dollars on a bottle.
Has all of the good things that you would expect from Ardbeg but very dry. Peat monster for sure, smoke, tar, some odd citrus notes, not as sweet as Uigeadail, which I prefer. I like everything else straight, including Uigeadial, but this one is so potent that it needed a tough of water to knock back the tongue-numbing alcohol burn.
