Ardbeg Hypernova Review
In October 2022, Ardbeg released their peatiest whisky to date, Hypernova. At 170 PPM, this whisky is pushing into Octomore territory as an ultra heavily peated whisky. As mentioned in our review of Bruichladdich’s Rock’ndaal 01.2, I have had really pleasant Octomores and ones that were just too much smoke. I cannot remember the higher PPM version I tried that did not sit well with me, but my guess is that it was somewhere on the extreme end of 200 or above PPM.
At 170 PPM, I am curious to see if this one pushes me to my limit or if I can still hang in there and enjoy the smoke. The name Hypernova is to pay homage to Ardbeg’s previously most peaty whisky, Supernova. Supernova was released in 2008 originally and Ardbeg made additional releases under that name in 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, and 2019. Supernova’s PPM level was 100, so Ardebg turned it up a couple notches for this committee release.
Of curiosity to me personally is how much more of a carbon footprint comes from making this whisky versus more typical PPM levels. My assumption is a whisky like this or Octomore comes with a higher environmental impact due to burning more peat during production. I have not seen any statements from Bruichladdich or Ardbeg on sustainability with regard to the making of these ultra heavily peated whiskies, just general statements about sustainability practices. That should definitely be a factor in whether distilleries continue to push for these higher PPM levels. Can we get these same smokier flavors without using as much peat?
I do believe all the distilleries on Islay are committed to doing more with regard to environmental sustainability. Ardbeg, in particular, created sustainability fund after a sale of a single casks for 16 million pounds. However, with these higher PPM whiskies, we should definitely be asking more questions about how they are made. That should be equally as important as whether this is a nice dram.
It would be a waste to have had this made and not enjoy it though, so I am very excited to put my peat limits to the test.
The Basics
Aged: Unknown
Bottles available: Unknown
Casks: Probably bourbon, but unknown
ABV: 51%
Color: Light gold
Nose: Butter, salt, wood, grape
Cost: $199
Purchased at: Ardbeg distillery on Islay
Taste
The first sip produces butter, maple syrup, and light caramel flavors. It’s a heavier, oily first sip. Following the sweeter beginning is a light sweet spice flavor with an as advertised heavy smoke finish. Your mouth is a log in a dying campfire.
The first few sips may make you think this one doesn’t live up to the smoky hype, but the smoky flavor definitely builds up as you drink it more. The warmth of the smoke sits in your chest and will be with you for the rest of the night.
Is it the smokiest whisky I have ever tasted? Not quite, but you definitely get a heavy smoke taste that you don’t find in your average Islay whisky.
Neat or With Water
I found that this whisky was better neat than with water. The sweet flavors are not particularly strong in this whisky, and the burn from the alcohol is very minimal. Drinking this neat allows you to not sacrifice sweeter or smoky flavors.
Summary
Accessibility: I have seen this for sale in physical stores in the United States as well as via online retailers. It is still very easy to find in whisky auctions as well. This is one that should not be too hard to find.
Price: Since I bought this at the distillery, I feel confident in what I paid for the bottle. In whisky auctions, it has been trending downward in price to $168 before auction fees and shipping. On the low end, finding this whisky for $180 seems achievable if you live in the United Kingdom or Europe. In the United States, $200 seems like the going rate. I have seen it listed for $700 on the high end.
Quality: It’s smooth and smoky in a way most whiskies are not. It finds a way to make the smoke the highlight of the dram and something to look forward to. It also does a great job of masking any burn from the alcohol despite it being a 51% ABV whisky.
If you are looking for a bit more smoke, the Hypernova is here to deliver. You won’t have to worry about enjoying the taste of this whisky to appreciate the smoke either. It makes me hope other distilleries on Islay will experiment with ultra heavily peated whiskies in a sustainable way and that Ardbeg continues to experiment with this release.
I would get another bottle of the Hypernova, but ideally I would like this whisky to be a bit less expensive than $200. It seems like a hefty markup for improving a specific flavor of the whisky. By comparison, Octomore sells from the Bruichladdich distillery at around $170 and between $250-$300 in the United States. Maybe that’s just the price of higher PPM.
Bruichladdich has set the bar pretty high with its Octomore line, but this whisky has shown that Ardbeg is more than capable of producing something similar. I’ll be curious to see if Ardbeg continues to develop ultra heavily peated whiskies like this and if they try them with other casks like sherry or wine. My gut is that this one went well enough that Ardbeg will be back with something that builds on this whisky. My only hope is we get some further details on the environmental impact of making a whisky like this as that will definitely factor into whether I will get higher PPM whiskies moving forward.