🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

Very peaty on the medicinal and herbal side, good mouthfeel - too medicinal for my taste - I liked the initial Supernova and SN2010 more

Medicinal but also coastal peat, vanilla, citrus, also some industrial notes, easy drinking though not really exciting

Young, not at all as smoky as I expected after the distillery's full-bodied announcement (the most intense smoky note that the whisky is able to deliver only emerged when the glass was emptied to a small extent), unspectacular . Blindly, I would have bet on any Islay smoker, NAS or a maximum of 5 years old, 45.00.

Very decent peaty dram, with some nice caramel sweetness in it as well. Very pleasant and interesting whisky.

Tasted during a sublime BYOB, the 18th of February 2023, in Hotel Haarhuis, Arnhem normally I am quite the Ardbeg fan, but this one for me missed a bit the mark. meaty, oiled peat, citrus, earthy, ashy, pear and honey, but it misses something

Exceptionally light, straw color. Oily structure.

86.5

https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2023/05/19/loose-ends-spring-2023/ Arriving late to the party as per usual, what’s apparent is just how micro-managed and market-targeted this Hypernova release was. I searched the web for 20 minutes [at time of writing] only to find review after review posting Ardbeg’s media statement verbatim with very little extra content of their own if at all. You can trust that the Whisky Loving Pianist not follow suit. Leaving all official flannel aside, simply put, this is Ardbeg’s smokiest expression at 170ppm – Ardbeg’s Octomore if you will – with an rrp of £190. N: Like with Octomore, extra ppm’s don’t necessarily translate to an obviously smokier experience for the consumer. Indeed, here it’s the emergence of the distillate-derived creamier elements that surprise and please me the most. Opening out, we are talking of a [pina/mezcal] vegetal [vanilla] sweet < sour profile, passing notes of baked shelled crab and smoked salty pickled gherkins & jalapenos, oven-roasted lemon/smoke infused lemon juice,…. [make your own lists]. I’m picking up only American ex-bourbon cask maturation and, age-wise, youth! I’d be surprised if this was any older than six years in the main. T: Deeply peated, certainly, with a firm charcoal > ashy vegetal bitterness, this is Ardbeg with a very husky voice. Again reminiscent of mezcal on occasion, the husky distillate-chewy bitterness continues. With a fairly neutral flavour profile, the wood influence itself talks of clean vibrant resinous white oak whilst seemingly contributing a sweeter vanilla influence to the emerging barley-led creaminess. F: Not a great deal more to add, the entrenched bitter phenols and vibrant spice continuing their reign. C: I’ve no idea whether this will become a permanent in-house fixture for Ardbeg, but I guess this stunt is being used to test us/the market. I don’t mind it, but I much prefer the balance of Uigeledail or Corryvrecken and it’s worth pointing out the price of one bottle is the equivalent of 4-5 Ardbeg 10s! What’s different about Hypernova compared to the rest of Ardbeg’s range, is its voluminous quality. That said, Bruichladdich has nothing to worry about in any department.

Exciting Ardbeg, I really like the extra strong peated Ardbegs across the board, this one is definitely still quite young, but that doesn't detract from the fun of the whisky

Peat-floral (perfume) with iodine and medical notes, burnt wood and lemon, machine oil, varnish and pepper. 22-21.5-21.5-22

81-85 – Wow, really good one

Nose-86; Taste-88; Finish-87.

COLOR: Straw - good Ardbeg and NAS single malt, but don't think necessarily better than the CORRYVRECKAN - so about 300 € definitely too expensive

Overpriced!!!!!!!!!!

Intense, very thick peat, clods of earth, mud, damp hay, slowly dripping tar. Different shades of charcoal. Beyond that, sanded wood, dried almonds, ethereal vanilla, creosote. Crumbling gypsum, the dampness of a cave, with shards of limestone, chalk, granite. A half-flooded tunnel, an abandoned well. Goose fat, paraffin. Coppery notes. On the palate, it's a bit young, but also very waxy. After a while, a lovely velvety texture, hazelnuts, macadamia, varnished wood. Candied figs. The peat is embedded in every flavor. Spices are present, but not overpowering. A long and powerful finish, like a tidal wave, lumpy charcoal, a drop of caramel, greasy earth, chocolate fondant. Cola nut, very slight bitterness. For me, this is one of the peatiest whiskies in the world, because everything has been done to ensure that the peat present in the malted barley ends up in the final product, which is not necessarily the case with Octomore whiskies. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2025/11/ardbeg-hypernova-committee-hn2022.html