| Ardmore DB 1999 12yo 53.5%alc.
My first tasting of this was sufficiently interesting to warrant buying a dozen bottles to sell on to you, dear LFW.co.uk visitor. I was thinking this has an interesting, meaty, character. Ardmore is a favourite, consider Highland peat and wine?, okay let's give it a try.
However, I have tried this twice again to consider if this is the mythical Bad Bottle of Single Malt Scotch Whisky. "There are no bad whiskies" we chant but there certainly are some duff ones, - and some of them are Scotch (mostly blends, usually with a low price as a 'bit-of-a-giveaway').
A cask strength, 12 years old, traditionally peaty, Ardmore that's been finished by transferring it to a cask that has previously matured Chateau Palmer, a French wine of some sort.
There are many characters that are pleasant, interesting and enjoyable, unfortunately they are jumbled with a collection of odd things that clash. Here is a whisky that is, well, unbalanced.
After two considered tasting sessions I have a mass of notes contradicting each other, here's my rude report:
First tasting note in full, verbatim:
Curious, watered down Mateus Rose. Nose neat: Grainy, cut grass, fresh paint, new sawn wood and muesli, oak/cedar. Wet leaves, vegetative. Cornered in the ester/solvent bit with additional sweetness and vegatative/sulphur. An unusual candy - Tunes/bubblegum. Tasted neat: Fulsome - with implants, wet, slightly rotting veg. Fruit compost, I've yet to detect any whisky notes here. Nose with water: As before but in a swimming pool, meaty (which is why I bought it). Blowtorch gas. Candle wax. Taste with water: Perfumed bath additive, tobacco on the choke (?), banana. G5 (Complex & Rich) but because of no delicacy, no smoke, not that rich and confused rather than complex. A fine example of random finishing, pointless and futile. Irritating burp.
Second tasting note in full, verbatim (three weeks later - and without reference to the first):
Copper, (but has had a stray pair of pink pants in the same wash). Nosed neat: Soda! Quite inviting, curious. Vanilla, with green grain underneath. Mealy (cowhide) a bit cheesy as well. Positive meaty, lemon, musty wood store, well - rotten wood. Quite a syrupy consistency. Tasted neat: Spirity yet syrupy. An off swallow / tobacco finish. More feinty notes. Aroma with water: Nettles and feints. Vanilla cream soda. Tasted dilute: Okay but I don't want to finish it. Meaty but otherwise unpleasant. Bad whisky? No but almost. A fine example of how finishing can go wrong. Any peat? No. Square G5 C&R. Difficult.
I'm pleased I put it in the same Flavour Square.
Once again; don't buy a finished whisky from an independent bottler unless you have tried it or have a recommendation from a trusted source.
Bad whisky? Buy it (please) and decide for yourself. Now, who wants to buy a bottle of Ardmore finished in Carl Palmers' socks?
Limited to 333 bottles from Cask # 91771
Ardmore Dun Bheagan Chateau (Ooh Roger) Palmer Wine Finish 12 Year Old 70cl
Barcode: 5010852024074
Whiskies with similar flavours: Tasting Notes:
Colour: Gold with red tint
Nose: Dried apricots, malt, Iron Brew, oily, fresh berries, smoke in the distance.
Palate: Instant peat smoke, syrupy texture, gentle spice, cigars.
Finish: Dries with botanical notes, lingering peat and cinnamon.
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