Ardbeg Blaaack Committee Release

It’s been far too long since I’ve published a whisky review. Well over six months. It’s been an unintentional break, but life happens and for some personal reasons, I needed a break from writing whisky reviews for a bit. But, I’m back. Or should I say I’m baaack. Back with a review of the latest Ardbeg Committee Release—Ardbeg Blaaack.

I have to admit, part of the reason I’ve chosen Ardbeg Blaaack as my first review in a while is so that I can say I’m BAAACK in BLAAACK (cue the AC/DC). Yeah, dumb joke. But hey, blame Ardbeg, not me.

The 2020 Ardbeg annual limited release curiously named Blaaack is a whisky matured (in part) in Pinot Noir wine casks from New Zealand. Ardbeg, for whatever reason, decided to name it Blaaack. I could site the marketing reasons for this name, but I’ll spare you of most of the details—frankly I didn’t bother to read the marketing gibberish this time. It’s supposedly a darker than normal Ardbeg, and I guess that’s where the name comes from. Not that it’s really the darkest Ardbeg ever. It’s a pretty moderate color. A nice rosy gold, but hardly black (or blaaack) or anything close to it. We’re not talking about a first-fill sherry cask that’s dark as fuck or anything like that. It’s just a red wine matured Islay. A young one at that.

A bunch of people on the interwebs have been touting this whisky as the best Ardbeg Committee Release in years. Is it? Let’s take a look.

Ardbeg Blaaack Review (Committee Release)

Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Islay
Age: NAS
ABV: 50.7%
Non chill-filtered

Nose

Fairly typical Ardbeg, with notes of smoke, earth, bacon, tar, and lemon. Hints of dark fruits and red wine. Adding water brings out much more of the sweet fruitiness. Enjoyable.

Palate

Sweet red wine. Fresh, juicy berries. Red licorice. Lemon. Peat smoke and tar, although a bit more dialed down than your usual Ardbeg peat blast. Young. No doubt this is not a well-aged whisky. Lots of immature ethanol. But the wine influence does help hasten its maturity, at least a little. Still, too many underdeveloped notes. And on top of that, it’s not particularly complex. The mouthfeel is fine, but not extraordinary. It’s a frustrating dram, a real Jekyll and Hyde whisky. In one sip those sweet berries mixed with peat smoke tantalize your taste buds, but the next sip reveals its ugly side, with a face slap of harsh and ugly immaturity.

Finish

Moderate in length. More red berries, smoke, tar, and ethanol. The ethanol takes over and lingers longer, losing the more interesting flavors.

Overall

Not a bad whisky, but not a great one either. Vastly overpriced. Comparing it to previous Committee Releases… well, Ardbeg Committee Releases have been a mixed bag of late, and that’s putting it nicely. I enjoyed last year’s Drum to a certain extent, although in hindsight, I overrated it in my review. I probably like Blaaack a little bit more than Drum. Grooves was not very good—Blaaack has that one beat, but that’s not saying much. Kelpie was a bit underrated in my opinion and is better than Blaaack. But the last really good Ardbeg CR was Dark Cove, which was quite good. I’ve seen where many people are comparing Blaaack favorably to Dark Cove, and I have to say, I just don’t get it. Dark Cove was way better, by many miles. Far more complex and without Blaaack’s problem of youth.

Blaaack is just too immature. I’m not one to harp too much about NAS whisky—although of course I would prefer to have age statements, there are plenty of good NAS bottles—but Blaaack is just clearly too young. In this case, the NAS status is clearly hiding the fact that this is too young for the price point. And it’s this kind of NAS that gives NAS a bad name. If the immature notes had been filtered out with a couple more years of age, this could have been a great whisky. But as it stands, it’s merely pretty good as a whisky and not at all a good value purchase.

I get why some people love this whisky. It tempts and teases with some very nice fruity flavors. But ultimately it’s just a tease, with no real depth and lacking in maturity.

SCORE: 5/10
Final Thoughts

On some nights I actually really enjoy Blaaack, but not at the price point. It’s inferior to other members of Ardbeg’s standard lineup, like Oogie and Corry. If this whisky sold for around $60-70, I’d be very happy with it. Even if it were closer to $100, I’d probably be on board. But at a retail price of around $140… meh. Oh course, these releases sell out regardless of what Ardbeg puts in the bottle. Ardbeg could put out a Committee Release that literally contains swamp water, and it would still sell out. So I guess it’s hard to get too upset about the price. But I can get upset about the quality, which is lacking. Really, it’s just disappointing, especially when another in-demand distillery like Springbank can regularly put out its Longrow Red series at around the same price, but with an age statement and with contents that are worthy of the price. Why can’t Ardbeg manage to do the same?

Blaaack has been a source on contention in my local whisky group. In spite of my lukewarm review, I like it more than most of my friends, most of whom hate it. Blaaack has some enjoyable notes. I really like the combination of juicy red berries with Ardbeg’s peat smoke. But it’s just so damn underdeveloped. It’s so close to being great… but it’s not great. It’s merely kinda good. If you’re in the mood for some young, red wine-influenced, peated whisky, it’s nice. But when it comes down to it, it just isn’t worth the retail price. And certainly not worth the secondary prices.

Buying Advice: Blaaack is way overpriced for what it is. If you can even find it at its retail price (around $140), there are still better alternatives. Any of the Longrow Red series, even the worst of them, are far superior to Blaaack. By a mile. Many miles. If you’re looking for a heavily peated whisky with red wine influence, buy a Longrow Red instead.

Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.

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