After last week’s deep dive into Ardbeg’s Ardbog, Auriverdes and Perpetuum, the journey down Islay’s Feis Ile memory lane continues. The next three stops – Dark Cove, Kelpie and Grooves – each capture a distinct moment in Ardbeg’s modern festival history, revealing how the distillery has played with sherry darkness, Black Sea oak experiments and heavily charred wine casks to push boundaries while keeping its signature smoke at the core.
Ardbeg Dark Cove Limited Edition (2016) Review
Dark Cove is Ardbeg’s 2016 Fèis Ìle bottling. Released first as a Committee edition, at 55% ABV, it was followed by the Limited Edition, as usual featuring a lower ABV, this time 46.5%. Both editions matured in a mix of ex-Bourbon and Dark Sherry Casks for an undisclosed number of years, before being bottled without chill filtration nor added colour. A bottle of the limited edition will cost you close to €300 or even more on the shops listing it. Other secondary market sources may allow a lower price. Recent auctions saw them going for £110-£150 before fees. The Committee edition, however, will require deeper pockets, around €500 at online shops. Here again, you may have a better chance for a lower price at auction, as they seem to get a hammer price (before fees) around £210–230.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: The nose opens with fleshy, earthy aromas, ashy peat smoke and dark chocolate, laced with orange, treacle toffee, coffee, and oak. Peat smoke softens into a campfire, suede leather, pepper, and tobacco leaves, with hints of lemon sherbet and molasses adding exotic lift.
Palate:
Neat: The palate bursts with honey-butter sweetness, iodine char smoke, and dark chocolate against meaty earthiness and spice. Smouldering charcoal, wood polish, raisins, dates, ginger, cured ham, squid ink noodles, and barbecue fat build complexity, with a velvety texture and brine near the sea. There are also some crème brûlée and apple caramel, bringing another touch of sweetness.
Finish:
The finish lingers long and spicy, with pepper, tarry creosote, oak, and smoky aftertaste echoing the sherry darkness.
Comments:
Dark Cove stands out as an excellent Ardbeg, masterfully balancing its hallmark peat smoke with sherry’s dark, sweet depth for one of the most harmonious and successful integrations in the Ardbeg Fèis Ìle’s lineup.
Rating: 8/10
Ardbeg Kelpie Limited Edition (2017) Review
Ardbeg Kelpie was released for Fèis Ìle 2017. It matured in Virgin Black Sea Oak Casks for an unknown number of years. Ardbeg released Kelpie in both Committee (bottled at 51.7% ABV) and Limited editions (bottled at 46%), with 60,000 bottles for the latter. Both were unchill-filtered and natural colour. A bottle of the limited edition will cost you at least €200 at retailers, but £80 before hammer fees on auction. The Committee edition will require at least £120 before hammer fees on auction, and €260 at retailers.
Colour:
Old gold.
Nose:
Neat: The nose opens almost light and dry at first, with shy sour fruitiness and linseed oil, plus musty notes. Peat stays discreet yet dirty and sooty, with menthol and a sweet tip emerging over time. Darker layers build to raisins, fish oil, rustic oak, green grass, and massive herbal notes.
Palate:
Neat: The palate surges with massive green notes, grass, bitterness, and chicory, shifting to bread, baked aromas, malt, oak, soot, and peat. Dense sweetness moderates, as bitter oak, menthol, and citrus hints dominate alongside smoked meat, sea salt, and spices like pepper and nutmeg. However, the mouthfeel feels light, way thinner than Dark Cove.
Finish:
The finish warms with liquorice, anise, medicinal notes, pepper, smoke, and wood, trailing into tiramisu sweetness.
Comments:
Kelpie shines as a standalone Ardbeg – pure, clean and austerely elegant – but it yields ground to Dark Cove’s richer depth in direct comparison. The Black Sea oak brings focused maritime clarity rather than opulence, yet it remains a very fine dram.
Rating: 7/10
Ardbeg Grooves Limited Edition (2018) Review
Ardbeg Grooves is Ardbeg’s Fèis Ìle 2018 bottling. First released for the Committee at 51.6% ABV, it was a few months later bottled at 46% as a general but limited edition. It matured in ex-wine casks, and was bottled without chill filtration nor added colour. On the secondary market, the general release seems to go around £80 before hammer fees and £110 for the Committee Edition, while shops will ask for at least £150/€175 for the 46% bottle, and £250/€300 for the Committee one.
Colour:
Russet.
Nose:
Neat: The nose opens with sour berries, eucalyptus, vanilla pastry, and toasted wood, followed by heavily charred cask notes of smoked cinnamon, paprika, leather, and tar. Pine resin, brine, and white pepper add complexity, but there’s also a hint of lavender-scented soap and fresh coriander, which can be divisive.
Palate:
Neat: The palate bursts with bittersweet soot, kippers, and brine, as white pepper, cloves, and ginger dominate before fading into citrus, pear drops, and vanilla. The texture feels thick and spiced, with iodine, seaweed, molasses, and BBQ notes of cured meats, paprika, and green chilli.
Finish:
The finish runs long and warming, with smoked chilli, tarry brine, and a seaside bonfire lingering through a dry, spicy tail.
Comments:
The charred wine casks contribute a rich texture and layered spices rather than overtly vinous tones, while subtle dark fruit undertones meld seamlessly with Ardbeg’s signature smoke. This creates a really very good Ardbeg Fèis Ìle bottling.