New Release: Ardbeg Official 'Dark Cove' Special Committee Only Edition 55%

A powerful high-proof type. While it has a certain charm, the water addition and flavor profile may be divisive. Ardbeg ARDBEG OB 'DARK COVE' SPECIAL COMMITTEE ONLY EDITION 55% bottled in 2016 The aroma features sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry, apricot jam, chocolate, chlorine, seafood stock, a touch of meatiness, barbecue, oil and nuts, with smoky and strong peat notes. On the palate, it is powerful and spicy, with a rich sweet jam fruitiness, chlorine or metallic elements, a faintly sweet-salty soy sauce stock, a tightening tannic finish, strong peat, and an oily, long-lasting aftertaste. [Good/Very Good] Although Ardbeg released Dark Cove this year, the white-label committee edition was released before the black-label watered-down version for general consumers. This is bottled at 55% ABV, a high-proof expression. While it shares similarities with the black-label watered-down version in terms of the sweet sherried cask character and recent Ardbeg's cold, peaty nuances, this white-label version lacks some cohesion due to the absence of water addition, with individual flavor elements asserting themselves more prominently, making it more stimulating than its ABV suggests. It has a punchy aroma, and might evolve further with more time in the bottle. At present, the mellow sweetness reminiscent of a dark sherry cask is emphasized, with tannins tightening it up—a characteristic that feels more pronounced in the watered-down version. Personally, I preferred the black label. These preferences likely depend on whether one favors Ardbeg's original spirit character or what one seeks in such limited-edition Islay malts.