Review #389 - Ardbeg BizarreBQ
One of the now innumerable Ardbeg special releases, here we have 'BizarreBQ,' a barbecue-inspired peaty single malt hailing from the south coast of Islay. The brand explains that their master distiller, Dr. Bill Lumsden, worked with social media personality Christian Stevenson, also known as DJ BBQ, to create a whisky that would combine a range of flavors - smoky, savory, tangy, and sweet.
The way they achieved this was through the cask selection - three types were used in the end. Double-charred casks, ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, and their proprietary 'BBQ casks' were the chosen combination; while they don't specify what exactly a BBQ cask is, rumors point to addition charring or smoking to add even more wood smoky flavors.
We also get this at a strength that's slightly higher than standard for Ardbeg - 50.9% ABV, which means it shouldn't be chill filtered. That's indeed the case - they do state it explicitly, although there's no mention of artificial caramel coloring.
Ardbeg BizarreBQ
Scotland/Islay - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 85 (2023)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 101 (2024)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 50.9% ABV
Cask Makeup: Double-charred oak, ex-PX sherry casks, and 'BBQ casks'
Details: Not chill filtered, bottled 2023
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 6 times over 11 months; bottles at 60%, 40%, 100%, 90% (blind tasting), 80%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Smoky and relatively rich - peat and wood smoke, char, a little bit of a saline side, some bitter ash. There's a mild effervescence adding to the light scents, but then diverse richness: blackberries, plums, prunes, barbecue sauce, inky seawater. Tangy orange and charred berries add even more fruit, and there's a mild savory side.
Palate: This has a medium thickness mouthfeel; the peat level is medium to strong, and it's accented by loads of wood char. This is interesting, though - several different facets to the flavor profile. Decent fruit notes of candied orange, lime soda, raspberry-jalapeno jam, and strawberry; soft saucy notes, a bit of fizz, more jalapeno spice. The late palate adds chocolate and more drying wood smoke.
Finish: A medium-long finish, pleasantly oily with plenty of peat smoke and wood smoke. The savory barbecue notes turn a bit peppery, which accents the drying oak flavor; orange fruit is another constant, with hints of lime citrus. There's still sweetness with that fruit and some sherbet, as well as a hint of vanilla.
Final Note: This is pretty tasty - one of the more interesting special releases in recent years from Ardbeg, at least in our opinion. Sometimes, the tasting sessions seemed a bit more mellow, but across the bottle, we found a wide array of flavors, and it did indeed showcase a mix of smoky, sweet, savory, and tangy sides, as the brand was hoping. If there's one major issue we had with it, it was the mouthfeel - it was okay, but we would have loved to see a few more proof points to get a more chewy malt.
In terms of value, this is actually decent, at least at the original cost. Here in the US, that was around $85 or so - it would be a purchase recommendation from us if you can still find it at that price. That said, because this was a one-time limited release, the value is increasing slightly on the secondary market... we would be careful about overpaying here. It's decent whisky, but nothing exceptional.
Our Average Rating: 7.3 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.60
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
