Review by: dustbunna
I’ve fallen in love with Ardnamurchan’s way of bringing relatively young whisky forth with tons of character and a great balance of cask and spirit. This was the first cask strength release available in the US to my knowledge, and after positive experiences with the standard AD/ release, I jumped at the opportunity to try something a little stronger when I bought this bottle last year.
Distillery: Ardnamurchan.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Highlands.
ABV: 58.7%
Age: 6 years. Distilled in 2014-15. Bottled in 2022.
Cask type: Vatting of 45 bourbon barrels and 5 sherry hogsheads. IIRC this was ~80% peated, 20% unpeated distillate.
Price: $90 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. five months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: not all that far away from the standard release ~ sherbet-y fruits, minerals, cereal grains poke through a bit, mixed berries and cream.
Palate: more sherbet, light peat smoke (stronger than the AD/), wet rocks, a hint of menthol, some tannic astringency.
Finish: medium length ~ yet more sherbet, chili-like heat, chocolate, more minerals, more menthol, smoke pokes through faintly and lingers on the tail end.
Conclusion: I enjoyed this quite a bit, but struggled to find the same value in it that I do in the AD/ at two-thirds the price. There’s not a ton of distance between the two– although the vatting is mostly peated on this CS release, and it does show, it doesn’t make as much of a difference as I expected. I suppose that means the alcohol is extremely well integrated, given the much higher ABV here. Very good, but I won’t miss having a second one.
Final Score: 84.
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 