Corryvreckan is Ardbeg at 57.1% in first-fill French oak — named for the whirlpool between Jura and Scarba, the third-largest in the world — and Whisky Notes scored it 88, intense and powerful, no doubt, but balanced as well. Ardbeg has distilled on Islay’s Kildalton coast since 1815 and was rescued by Glenmorangie in 1997 — LVMH owns both now — with Dr. Bill Lumsden directing the whisky; the malt is peated to around 55 ppm, and Corryvreckan, launched 2009 and Jim Murray’s World Whisky of the Year the next year, is the house’s French-oak expression: ex-bourbon Ardbeg married with spirit matured in first-fill French oak, which brings sweetness and spice to fight the peat, bottled at 57.1% without chill filtration. Whisky Notes: sweet peat smoke with citrus, walnut, toasted bread, and spice on the nose; strong initial sweetness turning peppery and smoky, with lemon, liquorice, and toast with peach jam on the palate; and a long finish alternating peat, salt, mocha, and pepper — a real whirlpool of flavors. Honest note: the biggest Ardbeg in the core range — for the drinker who found Uigeadail too sweet and wants the peat with pepper and oak instead; the cask-strength Islay that rewards a big glass and a long evening. Neat, with water, slowly. Corryvreckan, the whirlpool.
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