It was American independence day on Saturday, and as we know, the Americans like more. More of everything. You ask for bacon and eggs in an American diner, you get a stack of pancakes with half a pig and a barn full of eggs. You ask for a large Coke, you get a bucket of the stuff. Small cars don’t exist, and a family runabout is the size of a small articulated truck, their version of rugby is “Rugby +”, where the players have more size and more padding than Jordan.And as has been proven time and time again, more isn’t necessarily better. And Ardbeg has proven this with their latest offering, the Supernova. Ardbeg’s peatiest ever whisky, with over 100 parts per million, is all about MORE! More peat, more alcohol…. more more more more more. And like an American burger which really doesn’t need chilli, bacon and cheese, Ardbeg has seriously destroyed a good whisky!
What I have always loved about Ardbeg is that it has always been simple and complex at the same time. There were many layers to the malt, but it delivered them so simply that it was a joy to drink. Thankfully this continues with their excellent ten year old, but the Supernova is just obscene.
I immediately got Arbroath Smokies on the nose, with a fresh air of seaside air, some pear and elastoplast. All was going well thought I, until my nose started hurting from the alcoholic fumes coming off. Then it was all peat, smoke and it was getting quite unpleasant on the nose. The palate was very hot. Lots of burnt toast, some Coal Tar soap and then some sweetness comes in, but it is all firey and smoky after that, with the taste of burnt matches. The whisky evaporates very quickly, leaving a burning sensation in your mouth. More peat, and no depth, a contrast to interesting, cheaper,and better, ten year old.
Simply, this isn’t Ardbeg, and try as they might to jazz it up with more glitz and glamour on the bottle, the whisky may be about more peat and more phenols, but I like it far, far less than the standard ten. I don’t want an American single malt, I don’t want an US burger and I certainly don’t want an SUV to drive to see the Miami Dolphins. Give me Ardbeg ten, a plain burger with maybe a little cheese and I'll clamber into a mini to see British Lions!
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