Ardmore 12yo 2009 55.5% ABV (Little Brown Dog spirits).

Ardmore 2009 Single Cask, Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 50cl. Finished for 1 year in a proper PX cask that held Pedro Ximenez sherry in it for 30 years. Filled 26/11/09 – Bottled 03/05/22

285 bottles from the cask at cask strength, non chill filtered and natural colour.

Appearance

This dram is damp straw in colour, it has a nice thick swirl line on my Glencairn, which beads up and creates an overall film as well as medium thick legs. #thewhiskeychaps

Nose

This has changed quite a bit since I poured it, the peat is here, a healthy dose too, with old style bubble gum, little Germoline, some foresty notes and an oiliness. #thewhiskeychaps

I’m getting plenty of red berries, there’s a dustiness and cream soda too. The foresty note is changing into really damp leaf litter now, mixed with cough syrup, raisins and cherry drops. #thewhiskeychaps

Palate

Lovely mouthfeel instantly, and there’re lots of bourbon and sherry cask spices. The peat is stronger on the palate, and as much as I’m getting vanilla and cinnamon, the peat is mixed nicely with sherry cask element. #thewhiskeychaps

Cloves and an almost rum and raisin flavour hold the peat so nicely. Figs, cigar leaves, tree bark, there is also a sweet berryness. Eccles cakes as I spoke earlier on Twitter, then vanilla custard, black coffee with a red fruit syrup. #thewhiskeychaps

Finish

There is a slight drying as @whiskeychap suggested, and the finish king side of medium in length for me. It has become quite a thick dram, like soda stream cola flavouring before being diluted. Cough syrup, sweetened espresso, dandelion and burdock. #thewhiskeychaps

My thoughts

As i get to taste more and more independently bottled Ardmore whiskies, the more i like them, and the spirit has shown time and time again just how robust it is. As i generally like ex bourbon cask whiskies the most, i do worry about what a whisky will be like from an ex sherry cask.

I have to say that this bottle is wonderful, the amount of time it spent being finished in an ex sherry cask is perfect for me. There’s plenty of sherry cask influence here, and it melds so well with the peated whisky, and i couldn’t find anything i wouldn’t have expected either.

This is a very nice whisky, that can be found out there in the wild if searched for. For around £67 it’s a lot of whisky, natural coloured, non chill filtered and natural cask strength, with a super mouthfeel, a whisky i’d very happily own a bottle of.

A big thank you goes out to Andrew from Little Brown Dog spirits who joined us on the tasting that this whisky was a part of.