An Ardnamurchan that caused an uproar!

Dutch whisky retailer Dramtime bottled a cask of Ardnamurchan that sent quite some shockwaves through the little country at the North Sea. As whisky enthusiasts we were already acknowledging defeat at the cash register for single cask (sherried) Ardnamurchan. WhiskySponge (120 coins), Berry Bros. (160 coins), it seemed to become the new normal for the much beloved newcomer in the world of Scotch single malt. So when a friend and Instagram alerted me on this chance, I went to the checkout with dread. Only to find that this (official!) single cask would only put me back 70 euro. I threw in a sample to make a blog for you today, and had some postal costs, but yeah, we can consider this a small miracle in today’s cynical world of whisky pricing. Much love for Dramtime for offering this PX-matured and peated Ardnamurchan.

Ardnamurchan 2018 AD/ 11:18, bottled at 60 % abv

Makeup: Distilled on 26 November 2018, this peated Ardnamurchan was matured in first fill Spanish oak Pedro Ximenez hogshead. Cask number 1973 was put into 320 bottles on 24 June 2024 at 60 % abv. Dramtime sold these bottles as quickly as Oasis tickets in September.

General impressions: On occasion I have tried (and bought) bottles of similar pedigree, one actually exactly the same but distilled in 2017. The other one bottled by 12Barrels I tasted and reviewed here. What these expressions have in common, is that they all matured in European – Spanish – oak. A lovely wood type, especially in combination with sherry. Let’s see what Dramtime got from the cask.

Well, the cask coloured the whisky deep, deep red, bordering on golden brown. The smell from the glass has a lot of sides to offer, with a direction going to the barbecue, but there is also certainly some (smoked) red fruit. In the middle they clash with big effect. Can you actually grill a strawberry? This is what it would smell like. Such a delight that you can easily nose this undiluted. We take a sip and the mouthfeel is very soft and gentle but not giving off much taste. Only on the finish you get some tastes back, mostly on charcoal, fruit juice at the bottom of a strawberry ice coupe, and some drier wood notes.

With water, the smells become fruitier, leaning towards candy more than fruits actually. Very lovely. The taste improves a lot with some water, getting really sweet but the smoke keeps it under control of not becoming a winesky. But this is a borderline case, I have to say. The peat is a lifesaver because the PX was powerful.

Conclusion: Well, it has a lot too offer, but the PX overload prevents this from going interstellar. Saved by the peat, and it takes water really well. A fun bottle.

Score: 86 points

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