Ardmore Traditional Cask Review

“A Great Alternative for the Fans of JW Black on the Rocks”

Country: Scotland

Region: Highlands - Speyside

Brand: Ardmore Traditional Cask

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS 

Alcohol: 46%

Colour: Slightly Dark Gold

Nose: The combination of relatively young spirit (5-10 years perhaps) and the accelerated maturation in the Quarter Casks is certainly interesting. We might see this more often, at least as long as demand exceeds supply. It's a Nose you have to get used to. It resembles a mix of Alcohol, Vanilla and Creamy, Burnt Driftwood. It's a bit Thin. Despite that I find Smoked Fish sprinkled with Lemon, Leather, Salted Butter, Caramel, Nut Shells, Toast, Yeast, light Earthy Peat, Wet Grass, Green Apples and Grapefruit Juice. Hints of Burnt Tyres and Apple-Vinegar. The Alcohol is not at all integrated. Finally, it's important to give this Ardmore enough time in the glass before Nosing.

Taste: Young, Light, Edgy, Oaky and Yeasty. I find Cereals, Alcohol, Tobacco, Earthy Peat, Ashes, Smoked Meat and Fish, Drift Wood, Bitter-Lemon, Pepper, Caramel, Toffee, light Vanilla, light Honey and a sprinkle of Salt. 

Finish: Middle-Long. Sugary Sweet at first but quickly becoming Sharp and a tad Bitter. I find Sweet Grain, Alcohol, Dried Fruit, Nut Shells, light Smoke, Ashes, Caramel, Toffee, Pepper and a hint of Aniseed. Again, too much Oak influence for my taste.

I added a few drops of water and on the Nose you will find some Milk and White Chocolate. On the Palate and in the Finish you take out a bit of the Edgy character of the Spirit. You can carefully experiment with a couple of drops. As you know I usually prefer my Single Malt neat but this Ardmore is not really good enough for that. My advice: Enjoy it on the Rocks!

Rating: 83

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5 – Finish: 20.5 – Overall: 21 

General Remarks: The Ardmore Distillery was founded in 1898 by the son of William Teacher called Adam. It is located in Kennethmont, Aberdeenshire and is owned by Jim Beam Brands since 2007. Ardmore is the home of Teacher's Highland Cream and most of Ardmore's output is destined to be part of this Blend. In 2007 however the Ardmore Traditional Single Malt was released, in fact the first Single Malt of this Distillery to be produced in large quantities. The Traditional is not Chill- Filtered, lightly peated and matures firstly in Refill Ex-Bourbon American Oak Barrels before being finished for around another year in traditional 19th Century style Quarter Casks. Usually it sells at around 40 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Very Good!

Conclusion: An interesting tasting experiment. There are not that many peated Speysiders around. And Ardmore, like Beam sister-distillery Laphroaig, is busy experimenting with the Quarter Casks. The Nose of the Traditional is okay when given enough time to open up. It's not overly sophisticated but there are just enough Aromas to keep you busy for a while. Palate and Finish are a different story altogether. The Oak overwhelms the other Flavours and the Tannins leave you with an overall Bitter impression in these Departments. I would therefore not qualify the Ardmore Traditional as an adequate sipping Malt. However, since I bought a full bottle of this peated Speysider in the Airport Duty Free Shop, I tried it out on the Rocks as well. And..... I liked it a lot! I gave it an extra half point for that. What a great alternative if you are a Johnnie Walker Black on the Rocks fan like me! And given its fair price I'm sure I will buy me another bottle next time I'll fly away.

Jan van den Ende                                                                     April 10, 2014