Review by: dustbunna

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Distillery: Ardmore.

Bottler: Signatory Vintage.

Region: Highlands, Scotland.

ABV: 58.7%. Cask strength.

Age: 11 years. Distilled in 2009. Bottled in 2021.

Cask type: 2nd-fill ex-Islay barrel, full maturation.

Price: $95 USD for 700mL.

Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Bottle open across approx. 6 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder (consistent throughout the lift of the bottle.)

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Nose: strong cask-driven medicinal smoke, macadamia nuts, lemon candy, grass.

Palate: medium-thin ~ lots more smoke, earth, lemon zest, talcum powder, cream, ash, broken twigs.

Finish: medium-long ~ lots of ashy smoke, more lemon candy and grass, crushed seashells, seaweed.

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Thoughts: It doesn’t take much effort to recognize the peated cask influence here, nor that the previous incumbent was obviously Ardmore’s Suntory stablemate, Laphroaig. The impact of that cask swings Ardmore’s very light, coastal peat presence far out towards the extremes of Islay, though not quite so much as straight Laphroaig itself. Peated casks for me can often feel like an overcoat, not well-integrated with the spirit, but here cask and distillate work well together, probably helped by Ardmore already having some peat smoke in it as well as by the full 11 years of maturation in the ex-Laphroaig barrel. 

Taste-wise the result is mostly very much as expected; there’s a lightness here behind the medicinal smoke that tells me the spirit wasn’t completely crushed by the cask, which is nice. The macadamia nut note on this whisky is fascinating and keeps me coming back to look for more. I was a little surprised how thin the mouthfeel is for the ABV and being an independent, but that’s a relatively minor complaint. It’s still very enjoyable whisky, one of the more successful ex-Laphroaig maturations I’ve found so far.

Final Score: 83.

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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.