Ardmore 10 Year (2008) r/Scotch Pick

Review by: Raygun

This Ardmore was picked by some of the r/Scotch crew, and was available on Fine Drams until fairly recently. Ardmore is a medium peated Highland. I don’t believe there are any age-stated OBs and a lot goes into blends (notably Teacher’s). IBs are plentiful. Never been a malt I’ve particularly sought out. Rested about 10 minutes.

Distillery: Ardmore

Bottler: Morrison & MacKay for r/Scotch

Region/style: Highlands single malt Scotch

ABV: 57%. Cask strength. 

Age: 11 years. Distilled on 6/9/2008 and bottled on 10/7/2019. 

Cask type: Bourbon hogshead, #702430. 244 bottles.

Color: 0.3 pale gold. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

Price: About $85

Nose: Is it breakfast? Because I’m smelling cereal. Oats, barley, and peanuts. Restrained smoke. A little caramel but not very sweet.

Palate: Smokier than the nose. And citrusy. Grapefruit and lemon curd. Caramel. Some graham crackers spread with peanut butter. Or peanut Grape-Nuts, if that were a thing. The fruit is evening up with the cereal now. Slightly herbal, like fennel.  

Finish: Medium peat. Grilled lemons. Grapefruit with some honey. The cereal pokes its head back in, not to be forgotten. Oats, malted barley. It still tastes like peanut butter. Weird for scotch, but there it is.

Conclusion: Not had a whole lot of Ardmore, and they’ve been fairly middle of the road for me. That’s about where this ends up: about what you’d expect for the specs. It’s kind of interesting. The peanut flavor was unusual. Drinks pretty easily. Nice, though not something that’ll wow you. 

Buy again? Sold out now, and that’s all right.

Score: 77

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
  • 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)

Published by Raygun

Unknown's avatar

I drank Scotch occasionally (mostly at family gatherings) for years, but started getting more interested after an introduction and tasting from a Scottish acquaintance. That led to buying my first bottle (Highland Park 12). Now 600+ spirits later, Scotch is still my first love, but I drink other whisky and dabble in brandy as well.

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