Review by: The Muskox

A quick note before anything else for the sake of transparency. This review was done with an industry sample provided free of charge, with no expectations beyond drinking them. As always, I do my best to provide my unbiased opinion, and readers can decide how they want to take this review. For more information, see our Ethics & Transparency statement.

LMDW usually puts out excellent whisky, though you generally have to pay quite a lot to get it. Let’s see how this Ardmore works.

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Distillery: Ardmore.

Bottler: La Maison du Whisky.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 56.8%. Cask strength.

Age: 13 years. Distilled in 2008. Bottled in 2023.

Cask type: Cask #90909872, a bourbon cask.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: 0.2, Pale straw. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Tangy and minerally. Crushed limestone and rice vinegar. Damp hay and cut grass. Fragrant citrus (lemon, orange, pomelo?), cilantro, and chili flakes. Hazelnuts, that’s a new one for Ardmore.

Water intensifies the cool fragrant flavours – now there’s cucumber and wet clay.

Palate: Lightweight on the palate, but quite oily. Dirty smoke and iodine on the arrival, sea salt, sandalwood, citrus and marshmallows. Smoke intensifies as the whisky develops, bringing burnt rubber and seaweed. Trampled cigarettes and fryer soot.

Much sweeter on the arrival with water, but the coal smoke on the development is retained and maybe even a little stronger.

Finish: Medium-length, very salty. Cold coal smoke continues into a savoury edge here. Grilled asparagus. Sliced oranges. Dirt.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Canary in a citrus mine”

Conclusion: A solid Ardmore with lots of distillery character. The smoke is particularly cold and earthy here, but paired with this strong fragrance. I think it’s a bit short and simple to reach the heights of some of my favourites. Otherwise, solid and fun to drink.

Final Score: 82.

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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.