Review by: The Muskox
At least I think this was one of Tim’s… this was tasted at the recent Toronto Whisky Society meeting, along with piles and piles of whisky. The table looked like this, for reference. I didn’t get as much time with this whisky as I’d like, so the notes are a little shorter than usual today.
No, I don’t know what “avuncular” means, and I refuse to look it up.
Distillery: Ardmore.
Bottler: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Region: Highlands.
ABV: 59.3%, cask strength.
Age: 12 years old. Distilled on 03/06/2006. Bottled in 2018.
Cask type: Refill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead.
Color: No colour added, un-chillfiltered.
Nose: Sweet-savoury and oddly yeasty! Strong yeast and malt, and a little butyric at first too. Dried chilis, bloomed black pepper, browned butter, and iodine.
Palate: Fairly hot. Yeasty and malty on the arrival. Red velvet cupcakes? Slightly fruity as it develops, with orange and a little pineapple. Musty earth as well.
Finish: More yeast, with a savoury yeast-extract note this time. Melted chocolate, mud, and a hint of sharpie.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Tepid toxic masculinity”
Notes: This was inexplicably bad? Or at least very weird. Extremely off-profile for Ardmore – I’ve never gotten these kinds of yeasty notes from this distillery before. Other than that sharpie note on the finish, this wasn’t that bad, structurally speaking, but it’s a bit off the weirdness deep end for me. I can’t say I came to this with the freshest palate, but for what it’s worth, my friends at the meeting who also tried this had very similar thoughts.
Final Score: 73.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 