Ardbeg's Wee Beastie is a youthful single malt drawn from a combination of ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, bottled up at five years of age. Peaty notes sit at the fore for this one, with oak somewhat taking a back seat, since... Well, y'know, it didn't stay inside those casks for too long. However, don't mistake that for meaning Wee Beastie is an uncomplex expression. It still packs a satisfying flavour profile that should impress many of the Ardbeg aficionados out there.
There’s sea spray, rock pools, smoked malt and damp bonfire wood initially which waves of sweet and slightly vegetal smoke powers through. Hints of brown sugar, pear drops, a little vanilla and cooked apple add sweetness among notes of spare ribs, lemon sherbet, black pepper and wood shavings. I love this nose, it’s smoky and musty and like standing by a seaside bonfire.
The palate is very pleasantly sweet and salty. Citrus oils and orchard fruits are present along with an unmistakable dark berry tartness which is joined by plenty of damp peat and dry wood smoke. Adding depth there’s pepper steak, creosote and then some touches of clove and liquorice. In the back-end, there’s a juicy sweetness from lychee and peaches as well as just a touch of salted caramel.
The finish is exceptionally long and oily. It’s a bit like sucking on a lemon sherbet and taking a great big whiff of some freshly cut peat, to be honest. While standing on a beach. Lovely.
Had this one with the Ardbeg Monsters of Smoke box. The box itself it worth the lot but if course it’s the whisky the counts. This is one of many smoked, young whiskies and it really does well. It got the burning car-tyre smoke that makes it stand in its iwn right. It got the youthfulness and darkness and some sweetness in the end and it will take a teaspoon of water well. It is not a masterpiece as such but it is a real firecracker at its pricetag.
My favourite whisky was always the Nam Beist. But it was never released again, and I have longed for it since. This Wee Beastie if for me a "Very Young" version of the Nam Beist. Really enjoyable!
Sit back, relax and enjoy a wee sip of Wee Beastie! Not for wimps, this is for special occasions with like-minded friends. Peaty and comforting.
Between the sweet sherry, the * horse radish *, and the smoked and peppered meat notes on the Ar5 here, it is very reminiscent to me of the Ledaig 18. A younger, simpler version of the modern Mull classic. Peat is also on the other hand recognizably Ardbeg, the soft mossy character you get in the ten year old. Save for a whiff of under matured clay-peat, which faded away as it began to breathe in the glass, I find nothing to complain about. Would put this on level with the 10. The two really do nose and drink very similarly.
It smells like Ardbeg (Islay peat), taste like Ardbeg but with a sherry influence . It is 5 years old (Wee Beastie is the name) and it is just fine, no need comparing it to the A10(bourbon casks) or the monsters Uige and Corry, it is an Ardbeg 100%, but in class of its own. The Ardbeg essence is there , I am enjoying it a lot.
Was: £67.90Now: £64.95
