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Ardmore 2000/17 Years Old/Golden Cask #CM242

Golden Indeed

9 1992

@jerryclydeReview by @jerryclyde

19th Nov 2021

0

  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Overall
    92

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

  • Brand: Ardmore
  • Type: Scotch
  • Region: Speyside
  • ABV: 55.3%
  • Batch: Distilled 2000; Bottled 2017 - Outturn: 136 Bottles

Ardmore is known for being one of the few Highland distilleries making peated whisky, Most of their output goes into the Teachers brand of blended Scotch. This is the first Golden Cask bottling I've tasted and I was impressed with its quality(despite the hokey pirate/buried treasure theme embossed on the back of the bottle). One of 136 bottles (I feel very lucky to own one) and purchased at the Green Welly Stop, Tyndrum, Scotland.

Color: Bright Gold (Natural color)

Nose: Tantalizing peat weaving its way around ripe fruit (apples & pears). Vanilla. An array of bright spices. Barley grist with a citrus background. Earthy.

Palate: Very soft (even at 55.3%) with the peat more assertive now, Barley sugars, ripe fruit and spices (cinnamon, allspice, & ginger) combine mid-palate with the peat making for a wonderful tasting experience. A superb cask imparting just the right amount of tannin keeping the whisky in balance.

Finish: Very long and extending the palate experience. A puzzling hint of lemon shows up late.

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19 comments

@Victor
Victor commented

@jerryclyde thank you for your review. It's good to see you back posting!

2 years ago 0

@jerryclyde
jerryclyde commented

Hi Victor: Yes, it's been a while. I came down with some strange auto immune ailment which put me out of circulations for about four months. Luckily, I'm back to normal. I can't believe that I identified the Ardmore as a Highland malt. Sorry for the error.

2 years ago 3Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@jerryclyde Thanks for the excellent review. Perhaps I’m missing something, but is Ardmore not a Highland malt? I was under the impression that it is.

2 years ago 0

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@jerryclyde The map I was looking at showed it just outside of Speyside. Strange. Although in fairness, even if it were “in” Speyside, it would still be a Highland Malt.

2 years ago 3Who liked this?

@YakLord
YakLord commented

Just checked the SWR, and the SWA Distillery Map, and they both have Ardmore listed as a Highland Distillery, not a Speyside Distillery.

2 years ago 1Who liked this?

@jerryclyde
jerryclyde commented

@YakLord Wow! Didn't know that the location of a distillery would create such interest. A couple of years ago Whiskey Advocate had an extended article on Speyside. As part of the article there was a section "Drive by Distillery Spotting" with driving directions for each of the Speyside distilleries; Ardmore was included. Also, Michael Jackson and Jim Murray have Ardmore classified as a Speyside malt. It seems that the Highland classification is quite broad. Deanston which is classified as a Highlander is in close proximity to Lowland distilleries. I guess that my response to UlyssesUnbound that Ardmore was "definitely" a Speysider is questionable. But the SWA being the SWA, if they classify Ardmore as a Highlander then .....

2 years ago 5Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@jerryclyde It’s all strange to me.I think Glengoyne straddles the Highland/Lowland line as well.

2 years ago 2Who liked this?

@YakLord
YakLord commented

@jerryclyde it's weird, for sure, because the line between Highland and Lowland is such an arbitrary line, and so is the Speyside distinction, but the SWA gets serious about it.

2 years ago 2Who liked this?

@YakLord
YakLord commented

@OdysseusUnbound Glengoyne is above the political boundary line the SWA follows, but its warehouses, on the literal other side of the road from where the stills are, are below the line...

2 years ago 2Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

I do love me some Ardmore and I don’t really give a shit if it’s Highland, Lowland, Upland, Speyside, Seaside, Backside…I like it. I’m just a whisky drinker, and I have been for about 30 years. Is there a big difference between a Highland whisky and a Speyside whisky? I don’t think so. The big differences become apparent when one compares Islay, Cambelltown, and the islands to the rest. I have never been able to discern kumquat or red locorice twizler in a whisky. I like, I buy it again: I don’t like it, we’re done. I take quite a bit of advice from my fellow connosr members, one or two credible reviewers and trusted whisky friends. If there is a positive consensus I buy, if not, I pass.

I hesitate to post this because I have had 2 hefty Friday night drams after a particularly difficult week. But, what the hell.

Cheers amigos.

2 years ago 6Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@jerryclyde I forgot to thank you for the interesting and helpful review in my previous rambling comments. And I see I misspelled licorice. I really should do these things before happy hour. grin

2 years ago 3Who liked this?

Wierdo commented

Nice review. I do like an Ardmore.

Chipping into the Speyside/Highland debate. As I understand it a distillery based in the Highlands can only call itself a Highland whisky. But a distillery based in Speyside can call itself a Speysider or a Highlander. Because Speyside is a separate region within the Highlands.

Hence you have Glenfarclas as a Speyside distillery identifying themselves as a Highlander on the bottle.

2 years ago 4Who liked this?

@jerryclyde
jerryclyde commented

@Wierdo Thanks for your comment, it sheds a bit more light on the subject (I guess); I forgot about Glenfarclas' claim. Looks like my initial claim of Ardmore being a Highlander was part right, part wrong. This has been an interesting exchange of ideas and opinions; I've enjoyed it.

2 years ago 4Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge commented

@BlueNote, some of the most memorable "Connosr" posts are a result of the hefty-two-dram indulgence. I don't mind at all.

2 years ago 5Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@paddockjudge @jerryclyde Thanks guys. I feel totally vindicated to the point where I’m doing the same thing on Saturday night. Balblair 17 followed by Lagavulin 12.

2 years ago 3Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor commented

In aquis vitae veritas.

2 years ago 2Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@Victor It’s the worlds quickest tongue loosener. stuck_out_tongue

2 years ago 1Who liked this?

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