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Ardbeg Hypernova – the brutally smoky whisky from Islay’s fanatical peated production house

This heavily peated Islay single malt is not for the faint-hearted – to enjoy Ardbeg Hypernova properly, you need to prepare to shock your senses

ARDBEG HYPERNOVA is designed to shock. Released as a special edition in 2022, it’s the most heavily peated whisky to emerge from the premium Islay whisky maker and lands with a direct punch to the senses. 

Bottled at 51%, prepare for waves of flavour that include tar, creosote and soot. Hypernova is not a whisky for beginners, unless they plan to learn to swim in very deep and wild waters. Its creators promise bitter almonds, dark chocolate and herbal notes that wind their way through aromas of burnt plastic, oil and rubber. With Hypernova, Ardbeg didn’t come to play. 

It was a curious release for the more than 226-year-old distillery, since it puts a ceiling on the quantity of peat you’ll experience with Ardbeg. Future releases will have to be pitched secondary to this bottle or strive to push the ceiling even higher. 

Ultimate peat ceiling

Right now, Hypernova sets the Ardbeg ultimate peat ceiling at 170 ppm (parts per million) of phenol – the measure of intensity a peated whisky carries. For reference, the previous bottling in the range, Supernova, was around 100-110 ppm, itself a very peaty whisky.  

There are a small number of whiskies from other makers with even higher peat levels, but this is Ardbeg’s highest. Since their cult following is based on the quality, depth and flavour of its peated whisky range, it’s a safe bet that this bottling will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any other.

Ownership & identity

This bottle continues Ardbeg’s pursuit of a singular identity. Since it was acquired by Glenmorangie and its parent company, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), in the late 1990s, the Islay distillery has undergone a complete transformation. Driven to meet the very high standards of its fan base, known collectively as the Committee, its production, bottles and world-class marketing are designed to set it apart from its competitors. 

The Hypernova journey

People who enjoy this whisky represent an intriguing niche among whisky drinkers — one that can only be joined through experience. You have to build a palate to prepare yourself for flavours as intense as these. 

It’s not as simple as tasting a dram and simply deciding you like or don’t like it. Enjoying phenol levels and complex whisky flavours as carefully crafted as those within Ardbeg Hypernova requires you to think of this bottle as a destination on a journey. 

To get there and truly enjoy what it offers, you need to pass through many other stations first, educating your palate and training your senses to seek out the notes that are on offer. Then, you’ll be in a position to say the Ardbeg peat ceiling it offers is exactly what you’re looking for or possibly too high for you. That outcome is valid too, but you won’t know until you take the journey. 

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