The Scot on Scotch Whisky Blog reviews a pair of intriguing single cask single malts from Ardmore distillery, released by independent bottler, Brave New Spirits.
Ardmore Distillery
Ardmore was established in 1898 by Adam Teacher, son of Glasgow whisky pioneer William Teacher. Adam was looking to expand the family business by securing reliable stocks for his Teacher’s Highland Cream brand and pinpointed a location on the outskirts of Kennethmont in Aberdeenshire for the project. Using the railway to transport materials from Glasgow to the northeast, he distilled using water from the natural spring that rises on Knockandy Hill.
The peated malt whisky produced at the distillery would form the backbone of Teacher’s, and many other blends, for generations. However, the spirit was rarely bottled as a single malt, other than a few releases by independent bottlers like Gordon & MacPhail and Cadenhead’s. That changed when the distillery came under the ownership of Jim Beam Global in 2006 with the release of the Ardmore Traditional Cask.
Despite a small core range of malts, however, the best way to experience Ardmore remains the output of the many wonderful independent bottlers. In this review, I’m going to be sampling two such releases from the brilliant Brave New Spirits. One peated, and one unpeated.
Brave New Spirits The Untamed Grace Review
Technically, the Untamed Grace is an Ardlair – the name given to unpeated Ardmore. It’s ten years old and was bottled at 56.5% after being finished in a first fill Pedro Ximenez Sherry Hogshead.
Tasting notes: The PX leads the nose, with sweet raisins and polished oak furniture. There’s new leather, some dark chocolate and Morello cherries. On the palate, there’s sweet sherry, woody, peppery spice, and oak tannins on the finish. Water released more of the dried fruits and some aromatic spices. If anything, the spice was more apparent after dilution.
Thoughts: A pleasant, if cask-dominated, dram. There isn’t much in the way of spirit character coming through, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Certainly, if you’re in the mood for a sherry-led dram, this will tick a lot of boxes. It’s also not the sweetest of PX casks I’ve ever come across. Instead, it seems to lean towards the oaky and spicy. Again, not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe I’d have liked to see a bit more balance, a bit more spirit coming through. Sometimes, when the cask is so dominant, it feels like the whisky could have come from anywhere – like the point of origin is pretty insignificant to the experience. The important thing, however, is that it’s a really enjoyable drop, regardless of where the flavour is coming from.
Price: £73. A reasonable price for a single cask – especially a sherry finish.
Brave New Spirits The Mask of El Peatón Review
The Mask of El Peatón is a 15-year-old, peated Ardmore, finished in a first-fill Tequila barrel. Bottled at 56.9%.
Tasting notes: This feels like more familiar Ardmore territory. There’s smoky bacon. Frazzles! A touch of maple syrup. Maybe that should be agave syrup. Some citrus – lemon and lime help to cut through the oak. There’s a touch of pickle juice in there, too. Ashy smoke. Big arrival on the palate with oak and spice with fruity, citrus zest. Lots of caramel and honey with charcoal and peat in the finish. Water brought out a greener, almost herbal side. The tequila really comes through on the nose after water.
Thoughts: This is a great dram. It starts off in typical Ardmore, smoky bacon, territory before morphing into a crazy, smoky, tequila monster. It’s quite mad but lots of fun and would be a great dram to throw into a blind tasting. I’m not sure anyone would be able to figure it out. I have to confess that I haven’t always been totally convinced by tequila casks. In the past, I think they’ve worked best when subtly deployed but there isn’t much subtle about this and I’m still loving it. Bonkers but brilliant.
Price: £90. It may not exactly be budget friendly but it’s not a bad price for a 15-year-old single cask. Especially one as unique as this.
For more on Brave New Spirits visit here
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