Ardbeg Ardcore
Committee Release | 50.1% ABV
Of Punks And Islands
As elsewhere in Europe, prices for petrol have skyrocketed in Germany over the last few months. The reasons for this are obvious and we can only hope that peace will prevail.
In response, the German government has implemented two main measures to ease the economic burden of the rising fuel costs: the Spritpreisbremse and the €9 ticket. The Spritpreisbremse is a state sponsored discount on the price of petrol for which the government has reduced the energy taxes to the bare minimum. This tax reduction was supposed to save the customers money, but the lion’s share of the discount seems to have gone straight into the pockets of the petroleum industry. The €9 ticket is an economy-class train ticket whose holders can travel on all of Germany’s regional public transport systems for a month. Luckily, this ticket has been more of a success story.
Yet, when the idea of the €9 ticket was introduced to the German public earlier this year, a mild moral panic ensued as people didn’t want to share the train or travel to certain destinations with ‘antisocial elements’ – oblivious to the fact their own resentment was antisocial in the first place. This absurd moral panic found its apex in fantasy-horror stories in the media about punks invading the island of Sylt – a safe haven where Germany’s upper-class like to spend their vacations – a bit like Sandbanks in the UK. They even have a luxury shopping street going by the name of Whisky Mile on Sylt.
It’s probable that no punk would ever have considered travelling to Sylt before the media frenzy, but punks being punks, around 100 of them from across Germany heeded the call and embarked on the €9 journey to the island in early June. They set up camp in a public square in the island’s main town of Westerland, hit people up for money, indulged in public drinking and some of them took a dump on the beach – something that had previously been concocted by the media – just for the sake of living up to their bad reputation.
As one of them stated in an interview: “This sounded like a really stupid idea, and if an idea sounds stupid, you can count me in.” Authorities in Westerland even set up fences and walls in public spaces to keep the punks (and their own citizens) out. Kind of funny, how moral panics go. Pointless and laughable, but it happened nonetheless. The reaction is quite telling about the times we’re living in.
Now, if you’re wondering what this story has to do with the latest special release from Ardbeg, I’d like to remind you it was their idea to go punk on the Ardcore.
To quote from Ardbeg’s website and marketing campaign: “From a distillery with more ups and downs than a pogoing punk comes Ardcore. Created with roasted black malt, roasted to the extreme, this spirit is all about what happens upfront – centre stage. Described as tasting like ‘biting on a spiky ball,’ Ardcore is a dram that wears its heart on its sleeve… its black heart! Stamp this bottle out as one fit only for the most Ardcore of fans.”
Despite the fact punk and hardcore are not the same, I’m flabbergasted that a multi-million dollar luxury company like Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton went all punk on their product, while those who would usually consume their whisky are busy keeping punks off their island. I haven’t heard a single punk complaining about Ardbeg’s marketing campaign, but why is it that a luxury product such as this is marketed as being punk and is then sold for more than €100?
After all, the marketing people at LVMH are professionals who know what they’re doing. Like those punks who have travelled to Sylt to spend a few days in the rich man’s world, LVMH ventured into punk subculture, set up camp in punk aesthetics, hit people up on their money, and invited them to indulge in drinking alcohol.
Now, punk has been commercialised by all kinds of people and industries and I wouldn’t blame LVMH for that. As usual, their marketing and storytelling are on point. What sits uncomfortably with me is the fact that moral panics only seem to ensue when the lower classes break out of their assigned spot and invade the spaces of the rich, while it’s just a game the other way round. Some punks on Islay make for a successful publicity stunt, some punks on Sylt trigger a pointless moral panic.
Review
Ardbeg Ardcore , 50.1% ABV
As usual, the Ardcore Committee Release sold out in a few hours, its hefty price of more than 100 quid notwithstanding. It is now available at the distillery (while stocks last) and through auction sites only – at even higher prices, I’d suppose.
Never mind the bollocks
I’ve digressed from the whisky under review and shared the story above with you because this strange clash of two otherwise unrelated events in our times struck me as interesting, because there’s not much to say about the Ardcore besides the usual marketing blurb, and due to the fact the Ardcore whisky is just not worth spending a lot of words on.
I don’t have much information about Ardcore to share, I’m afraid. As in the last years, Ardbeg has not been very forthcoming with detailed information about its most recent Committee Release. According to their marketing blurb, the Ardcore is all about some black malt that has been heavily roasted. This heavily roasted black malt should lend the Ardcore a special character and a taste like ‘biting on a spiky ball’. (How would they know the taste of a spiky ball??) As it reads on the back label of the bottle: ‘it’s not just about the maturation’. Conveniently, this also means that they didn’t have to state its age or the type of casks in which the Ardcore has been matured. I find it disappointing that LVMH is not as upfront about the age of the Ardcore as they are with their 5-year-old ‘Wee Beastie’ or the 8-year-old ‘For Discussion’ while they don’t shy away from asking their customers to pay significantly more for this one. My guess would be that this one is yet another youngster. I couldn’t find any information about the casks used for the maturation either, but my guess would be that the Ardcore has been matured mainly in refill casks.
Besides the Ardcore Committee Release, LVMH also had an Ardcore ‘Limited Edition’ on the market – also without letting us customers know the actual number of the ‘limited’ bottles. Bottled at a lower ABV of 46%, the Ardcore Limited Edition sold at almost the same price as its cask strength (?) sibling. And why shouldn’t it? As long as we as customers keep swallowing their marketing hooks and throwing our money at them with no idea what we’re getting into, things won’t change for the better.
Full disclosure: My review builds on a community sample, but I’ve also tried the Ardcore at a friend’s – just to make sure.
Nose
The Ardcore is not very present on the nose. Up front, I find tar, charcoal, and unripe barley; below the tar, I have a bit of vanilla, green apples, garden lovage, and some peppery notes. Altogether, the Ardcore is quite young and unripe on the nose.
Palate
It continues like that on the palate. The arrival is flat, but the spirit then develops a pleasant juiciness. Tar and pepper are centre stage, some vanilla sweetness, a piece of milk chocolate, and a slight citric touch chime in before the palate develops an unpleasant sourness. The finish is close to inexistent and very short. Ashes, tar, and a slight citric touch remain.
The Dregs
As a whisky, the Ardcore is bad on all ends.
The nose is not very present and not well integrated but still the best thing that this whisky has to offer. Thereafter, it only goes downhill. The palate is flat and unpleasant, the finish is close to inexistent. The Ardcore is young, has probably only seen some tired refill casks, and it is just poorly executed. The Ardcore plays on a dissonant cacophony of dull aromas under a heavy-weighing layer of tar instead of blasting a punk tune that I’d like to pogo to. This is unfortunate, as I could imagine the tar and juiciness to play well with a more present fruitiness and some vanilla notes. As is, the experience is very underwhelming and far removed from anything Punk.
From talking about the Ardcore release with fellow whisky aficionados and reading its reviews online, I know that I don’t stand alone with this judgement. No one really seems to have enjoyed this one on their palates, and many consider the Ardcore to be a disappointment. As in the last years, this Ardbeg Committee Release was met with high expectations but then failed to deliver. How come that people are still looking forward to the next special releases from Ardbeg then? I think this has to do with three major factors.
For one, the marketing people at LVMH are doing a great job. Every single year they manage to come up with a fresh and captivating story. Their design and timing are always on point. And they just seem to know how to hit the right buttons. They manage to create an aura for their whisky and to become the talk of the town just at the right point in time. Kudos to that!
Besides being great at marketing, Ardbeg has all the potential to make truly stunning whiskies. The Ten is a benchmark, the Uigeadail is great, and Ardbeg has set the bar very high with some of its earlier Committee Releases like the Dark Cove or the Alligator which are venerated as legendary whiskies by many these days. So, high expectations and a creeping fear of missing out prompt many not to think twice or to even try the liquid before buying a full bottle for more than a hundred quid.
Lastly, every Ardbeg special release feels like Groundhog Day. In the days before a release, the whisky hive reliably starts humming as many prepare to hunt for the next honey from Ardbeg. Once the bottle hits the market, no one wants to be left behind. Running with the flock, many find themselves exhausted at the end of the hunt but also take pride in putting their bounty on display in the social media. And then it’s all over until the next hunt. The hive buzzes like crazy when Ardbeg hits the market, only to fall into hibernation after. Not many people seem to open the bottle or to drink its content. Otherwise, we would know more about how people liked it…
So, let me be straight on this one. The Ardcore is dull, immature, and just not worth its money. I’d take a bottle of Ten and some canned beer any time over this one. Punks not dead, but Ardcore is.
Score: 3/10 (2/10 counting the price in)
Pierre Bourdieu’s 1979 sociological masterpiece Distinction discusses in depth how class, taste, culture, and power are interconnected. Mark Fisher’s highly recommended K-Punk Blog has several pieces on these issues as well.
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AC