Ardnamurchan Spirit 2017

If all goes well, we’ll have some true single malt from Ardnamurchan next year. After all, this distillery in the Highlands, owned by Adelphi, put the first spirit in cask at the end of 2014. This second Limited Edition Release contains spirit that matured for 30 months on former sherry casks, both oloroso and PX. If this one is as impressive as the one from last year, we are in for a treat.

The nose is aromatic and round, just like that one from 2016. Again quite a bit of smokiness and the peat is even more prominent on the nose. It is even a bit medicinal. But what lovely notes of caramelized oranges, hazelnuts, pipe tobacco, rum raisins with something of furniture polish to betray it’s young age. Smoked bacon with a fat, salty rind. Simply delicious.

While it is not less fruity than its predecessor, this is much more smoky on the palate. More peat, no doubt. This also make it more salty on the palate, despite the dark and sweet sherry notes. Bacon on the BBQ. Chili peppers and dry sherry, a great combination. And the oak delivers just enough bitterness to give the whole a good balances. First such a young spirit, this certainly is an eye-opener.

The finish is long, smoky, dark and sweet and leaves the mouth completely dry.

While the emphasis of this releases seems to be more on peat and less on sherry, I still think it is a pretty impressive spirit. Let’s not forget that this has only matured for 30 months. Put it in a blind tasting and I’m sure it will surprise everyone!