Originally filled at the Teaninich distillery on 28-April-2008. This Ardmore was finished in a 1st-Fill Château Margaux Barrique. Bottled on 5-Oct-2022 and limited to 287 bottles.
Appearance: Rose wine/copper. A thin swirl mark forms, together with a number of quick-forming pronounced teardrops. After a time a series of medium trails forms a corrugated effect on the semi-viscous film coating the inside of the glass.
Nose: A nice balance of alcohol, it’s evident but doesn’t inhibit the flavours in any way. Chocolate and caramel, a touch of Mint Aero too! Cola syrup, a sweet sulphuric note (but not the offputting one), some wood notes and candied fruits and red/black berries. There are some spices, which balance nicely against the sweeter elements too. That ‘sweet shop paper bag’ smell of mixed foam sweets and cola bottles.
Palate: A good ABV/sweet and spice balance. Some drying on the roof of my mouth, and a nice chest warming. Apricots in syrup, black pepper-dusted mixed berries and the beginnings of chocolate again. There’s quite a dessert wine full-on flavour vibe to this dram, it hits with lots of sweetness and then the spice appears as soon as that starts to fade.
Finish: Medium in length. That slight drying, the sweet sulphur and dark chocolate linger longest. A little spice hums along as a less obvious flavour layer too.
Overall: A very nice dram. A good balance of sweetness and spice, with the chocolate element adding a mellow sweetness at first, then morphing into a more dark chocolate bitterness.
