Ar2 - Elements of Islay

Nose:  An enticing, crystal-clear nose, showing hot spices and menthol alongside coalsmokey phenols.  Some very faint bramble fruit slowly develops.  Water brings forward cereals and toasty notes.

Palate:  Very powerful.  Quite hot and peppery again, with distinctive chilli heat at the front of the tongue.  Some honey as well.  Youthful leafiness, and very exuberant.

Finish:  Lengthy. Massive.  Warming and still very peppery.  Water seems not to diminish its power.

Comment:  Perhaps even more overtly phenolic than its predecessor, this is a muscular dram that committed peatheads will go crazy for.

Last year’s Ar1 was excellent (WF89) and here’s a new version, possibly a bigger molecule according to its name ;-).

Nose: very different from the Corryvreckan, starting with a little less smoke but more fruits (or rather orange zests and lemon essence). The smoke gets much bigger after a few seconds, and we’re getting much closer to the OB in style. It’s even getting very difficult to spot major differences after five minutes, both being very similar.

With water: it’s very different from the OB now, with more chocolate, soot, touches of wet dogs (sorry dogs) and ‘wet’ smoke (campfire under the rain). A little wilder than the OB.

Mouth (neat): more nervous, more lemony and more salty than the OB at the attack, more ‘brutal’ in a certain way. Lime, marzipan, green tea and a huge smokiness. The lemon plays with both your tongue and your lips.

With water: classic and classy. ‘Smoked lemon’, almonds, kippers.

Finish: very long.

Comments: definitely wilder than the OB. Actually, I like the Ar2 a little better than the Ar1, it’s probably even closer to the distillery’s markers. Well done – but can we have it in magnums? SGP:368 - 90 points.