Ardnamurchan & Adelphi Tasting
Tasting with Ardnamurchan at Storied Company
Indianapolis, IN - A local specialty wine and spirits shop, Storied Company, hosts brands/distilleries and their tasting events. In May 2023, we had a chance to try out a variety of Ardnamurchan whiskies in an interesting fashion - in addition to their flagship AD/ single malt, we also tasted cask samples from each of the types of cask/spirit that are blended together to form the AD/ whisky.
In a general sense, there are two types of spirit used: unpeated and peated. The AD/ also uses both ex-bourbon maturation and ex-sherry maturation. New-make spirit is not combined before maturation; the unpeated new make and peated new make are aged to term separately, and then blended together later. Similarly, the maturation for each type is completed separately: some spirit will undergo a full ex-bourbon maturation, while other spirit undergoes a full ex-sherry maturation… there is no ‘finishing’ used [for this product, but finishing may be used in other Ardnamurchan products]. A matrix of these options yields to us four distinct whisky types, which are all combined to create a balanced AD/ single malt. Let’s take a look at these individual samples.
Unpeated Ex-Sherry Cask Sample
PX Hogshead, roughly 58% ABV, 6 years old
Nose: rich, barbecue, fig, Christmas spice, slightly umami, raspberry, prune, brown sugar, burnt clove
Palate: medium-thick mouthfeel; clove, funk, baking spice, fig, hint of new make, salty, red fruit (strawberry), plum, prune
Finish: medium-long; warm, nutty, salt, Christmas spice, mildly umami again
Notes: natural cask strength
Unpeated Ex-Bourbon Cask Sample
Roughly 58% ABV, 6 years old
Nose: light, floral, orchard fruit, straw, perfume, oranges, slightly grainy, milky
Palate: medium mouthfeel; salty, stone fruit, pear, white pepper, baking spice, lovely warmth
Finish: long; warm, semi-dry, toast, pepper, light brown sugar
Notes: natural cask strength, aged in an Old Forester bourbon barrel
Peated Ex-Sherry Cask Sample
Oloroso, roughly 58% ABV, 6 years old
Nose: savory smoke, mild to medium peat, ham, barbecue sauce, moldy lemons, umami, clove
Palate: medium-thick mouthfeel; tons of ham, very savory, black pepper, oily, brown sugar, barbecue
Finish: long; red fruit, ham, Christmas spice, black pepper
Notes: natural cask strength, 30 ppm peat
Peated Ex-Bourbon Cask Sample
Roughly 58% ABV, 6 years old
Nose: new make, funk, mezcal smoke, medium peat, dank farmyard, salt, pepper, lemon
Palate: medium-thick mouthfeel; medium to strong peat, sweet peat, lemon, lime, warm
Finish: Long; sweet lemons, peat smoke, heather, honey
Notes: natural cask strength, 30 ppm peat
Now, we arrive at the combination of all of these casks: the AD/ release. Not aged stated, but its components are generally going to be five to seven years old; it will be a combination of peated and unpeated spirit, as well as ex-bourbon and ex-sherry maturation. When we tasted a batch of the AD/, these were the notes we found:
Ardnamurchan AD/
46.8% ABV, NAS, bottled 2022
Nose: Quite salty, some slightly dirty farmyard notes of hay and mild peat, and slightly ashy. There is plenty of black pepper and white pepper, along with sweeter notes of white wine and candied pear, with a touch of brisket. Overall, quite balanced.
Palate: Medium mouthfeel; bounces back and forth between salty and dry and fruity. The peat influence is medium now, and we still get plenty of pepper, along with lemons, buttery oak, and tons of brine.
Finish: Medium-long; white pepper is plentiful, but we turn toward sweeter butterscotch notes. There’s vanilla and wood sap, along with plenty of that signature salt/brine.
Lots of these tasting notes can be traced back to the original components, but it’s also interesting to see how the influences from different cask types came together to create entirely new flavors and sensations.
To finish the Ardnamurchan portion of the tasting, we also tried a single cask example, but instead of a sample, this is actually for sale: AD/09:15 CK.578, a peated ex-bourbon cask distilled in 2015, which was bottled at a strength of 58.1%. On the nose, it leaned stronger into the vanilla and mezcal smoke notes; the palate offered more buttery oak and lemon candies, along with stronger minerality; the finish was long, tart, and dry. While it shared similarities to the peated ex-bourbon cask sample we tried earlier in the evening, it also showcased the fascinating nuances that arise with single cask bottlings.
Storied Company finished the evening with a tasting of a 21 year old Springbank single cask, fully matured in a refill rum cask, bottled by Adelphi (Ardnamurchan’s parent company). Delicious stuff, a real treat to finish off a splendid evening. If you have a chance to attend a whisky tasting in a group setting - whether it’s led by a specific distillery, or showcases a range of whiskies - we highly recommend it. It always presents an excellent learning opportunity, and we’ve found some of our favorite whiskies in that sort of setting.
-Ethan and Hannah (Me, My Wife, and Whisky)
