Ardmore 10 YO That Boutique-y Whisky Company Batch 5

This is the sixth in a series of 24 reviews of the 2019 whisky advent calendar, the result of seizing an opportunity when the LCBO dropped the price of this set by 50% in early 2020. Call me weak.

Before tonight I could only remember having tried Ardmore’s Traditional Cask. I picked it up in 2011, eventually opened it in 2014, and finally reviewed it in 2018. And not long after, I was thankfully relieved of a bottle I never really reached for by @paddockjudge.

Since this one was next up on the calendar, I cracked a mini of the Legacy and also tried an IB sample, reviewing from low ABV to high and ending with this one here.

This expression, tasted in a Highland Glass, is reviewed in my usual manner, allowing it to settle after which I take my nosing and tasting notes, followed by the addition of a few drops of water, waiting, then nosing and tasting.

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Nose: 18.5/25

I am immediately hit with a vegetal note as well as peat. There is a dustiness to this dram. Not very complex, except maybe for the vegetal note that is a bit off-putting. There is a hint of fruitiness behind all that but it only peeks through. Water seems to dampen the nose. (18/25)

Taste: 20/25

Strange is all I can say about the arrival of the first sip. Something vegetal and sweet. Peat hits you in the development. It is fizzy in the mouthfeel. Some sweetness, a touch of fruit, peat and pepper in the development. Not complex at all. Water dilutes it. (19/25)

Finish: 18/25

Everything fades away super quick. Slightly astringent.

Balance: 20/25

This is mostly sweet, peppery peat and not much else.

Score: Neat - 76.5/100 With Water: 75/100

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I’m disappointed. At 48% and aged 10 years, this is not as good as the NAS 40% entry level expression. I was expecting something a little better.

I won’t be running out to find a bottle of this anytime soon.

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