We closed our tasting evening with the Ardmore…
Our contributor confessed that while she was excited to try, was initially disappointed when she opened the bottle… finding it a bit too dry and somehow lacking a certain something.
Undeterred we merrily poured our glasses, keeping our minds, olfactory senses and taste buds open to the experience….
Here is what we found…
Ardmore Triple Wood Peated 46%
- Nose – Caramel and peat! It almost reminded of caramel popcorn just slightly overdone… not in bad way though. There was also some light spice, fruit, sweet… one remarked how it smelt like cooked caramelized banana
- Palate – Light peppery spice, a bit of toast, herbal and aromatic
- Finish – Some vanilla, dry and again all with a lighter touch
- Water – None of us were tempted
Overall we found that while yes it was dry, it wasn’t terribly so. The peat also was much more subtle than anticipated – in a nice way.
Why triple wood? It refers to the three different type of casks used to make this whisky – American Barrel, Quarter Cask and Puncheon.
What do the Ardmore folks have to say?
- Colour – Golden straw, natural honey.
- Nose – Biscuity cereal notes and the scent of banana underlie the initial nose of ginger, burnt sugar, cherries and honey. A drop of water intensifies the ginger snap biscuit notes with a hint of cinnamon, and soft highland peat smoke.
- Palate – Light caramelised sugar, toasted barley, and warming, light peat smoke are followed by sweet vanilla custard. Water releases notes of pink peppercorn, and dried fruit flavours (raisin and candid orange peel).
- Finish – Light with soft peat smoke, lingering pepper and toasted almonds with a well-balanced dry mouth feel.
We didn’t read the tasting notes at the time but they seem rather apt… and suspect we should have tried it once with a bit of water.
What else did we try that evening?
- Glenmorangie Dornoch 43%
- Old Pulteney Dunnet Head 46%
- Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend 43%
What about other Ardmore’s sampled?
- Ardmore 1997 45% (G&MP)
- Ardmore Peat 8 year (June 2008 / Oct 2016) 57.1% (North Star)
- Ardmore 10 year (2008/2018) Cask #800168 60.3% (LMdW Artist #8)
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