Ardnamurchan AD/09.22 Cask Strength

Still working my way through the generous package sent by the great @cascode. Tonight, my first Ardnamurchan. Racked out of fifty barrels in September 2022 and created from 94% peated malt, this one should be a smoky beast. The other 6% is an unseated sherry cask aged malt. The maturation regime for the bulk of this liquid was 88% Bourbon wood with the remainder sherry casks. N: 58.4% lets itself be known but not in an obtrusive way. Bright crunchy orchard fruit, a slightly sweaty smoked cheese, fresh oysters, oaky vanillin, slightest suggestion of lemon. P: Bracing. Big oakiness, huge peppery spice, briny and slightly waxy smoke wrap around toffee and a slight berry freshness. F: Medium. Slightly grainy texture unfolds rife with ash and pepper and salt. In the notes @cascode sent me was the comment “this loves and needs water and a long time to rest before it wakes up”. I will comply, because my word the first few sips of this were intense and just blasted through my palate masking what I suspect are some lovely notes. I’ve given this dram about a teaspoon of water and left it to mellow for ten minutes. N: Brighter, lighter. A delicate perfume and oily wood fragrance comes out the smoke unfolds and adds a soft warmth vanilla pushes more towards caramel and the slightly sweaty cheese is gone. Marshmallow and strawberries and cream hard candy. A slightly mineral element to the maritime influence evolves, taking this from oysters to salty beach pebbles. P: Is this the same whisky? Not as forceful but owning its presence. A lovely wooded chardonnay creaminess to the wood is blended with prickly black pepper turning to vibrant red chilli. Dry tea and tobacco, a sweet brown sugar crystallises at the margins. Some crispy bacon, a red fruit jam and some fresh white bread all mingle into a powerful profile. And the smoke, its woody, salty and brings just enough of itself to elevate the whole dram without overpowering it. F: Much the same as pre water, but ever so slightly nutty and the texture has thickened slightly and brings a little salty aniseed/peppermint freshness. What a journey that was. This is a very complex and highly interesting pour. But, I didn’t find this approachable, this was an olfactory workout for me. Definitely not something I think I could sit and enjoy at ease, but definitely one to sit and nerd out over arguing about the profile it presents. Biggest, and most obvious takeaway, when @cascode suggests adding water; you add water. Distiller whisky taste #231 [Pictured here with a Scottish classic. This rock is a cordierite metasediment from Banff on the north coast of Aberdeenshire. The rocks here are marine sediments that have been metamorphosed at high temperatures 470 million years ago. This rock preserves its original sedimentary layers with new growth of cordierite appearing as dark spots. The cordierite here is dark as it has itself been altered to a fine mix of chlorite and muscovite]

Grilled peaches, butterscotch, vanilla, campfire, and maritime notes.

Butterscotch Rasberry Jam