Ardnamurchan: Rum Cask (Scottish Highland Single Malt Whisky: 55% ABV)
Visual: Slightly pale gold. Fast thick streaks come from the spirit.
Nose: light peat. Honey and vanilla. Sweet raspberry cream. Peppered beef. Light peach. Moderate alcohol – lighter than expected. Slight lime. Water adds more lime, and crumpets flavor.
Body: Honey. Drying smoke and soot. Peat. Spicy red wine. Brown bread. Fatty butter thick feel and slight taste. Custard. Dry sherry. Raspberry. Water adds lime jelly. Spicy rum. Sherried sponge.
Finish: Brown bread. Black pepper. Smoke. Dried beef slices. Noticeable alcohol. Bitter red wine. Sultanas and figs. Water makes spicy rum and strawberry jam.
Conclusion: Every time I try this I have a slightly different experience. Never a bad one, which is a good start though. Also each Ardnamurchan I try seems to be a just a bit better than the last, and to that end, this one is a banger.
Even neat it isn’t too strong in alcohol feel, it is there, but remarkably well controlled for 55% abv and I presume a comparatively young age for the spirit. There is subtle peat usage there, influencing the flavor in smoke and dried beef presence, but never dominating, again helping this be a welcoming dram. There is a spicy red wine backing and thick mouthfeel – like this I love it, but there is even better yet to come.
Each drop of water smooths the whisky and brings out more sweetness and dark fruit – going from red wine to sweeter rum notes, and light raspberry hints becoming full on jammy character, with trifle like sherry soaked sponge notes. This is great for me, but even if this is not your style like this, there will be a perfect balance for most people with some water play here.
Even like that there is still a touch of the alcohol showing, and a touch of the youth, but considering they were not dominant parts neat it is not a big deal, it feels like it makes it a rough edged gem rather than a bad thing. Kind of like how I prefer the rough edged Belgian takes on their beers rather than the smoother USA interpretation. Sometimes I like things a tad less polished, it feels like it adds character.
A lovely dram any which way, with a long finish and a huge range. Very impressive.
Background: I first tried this at a tasting at Independent Spirit and adored it, but did not do notes at the time. Since then I grabbed myself a bottle from the same store, and now I am doing notes on it! Was interesting to see how much I enjoyed it outside of the tasting event, where often the “event” status can make me enjoy things more than I normally would. While this is listed as “Rum Cask” I think, but I am not sure, it was aged initially in Bourbon casks then finished in Caribbean rum casks, but don’t quote me on that. I do know that it is non chill filtered, which is always nice. Music wise I went with Maid Of Ace: Live Fast Or Die, saw Maid of Ace warm up for Green Day live and very much enjoyed them so grabbed their album. There is no age statement on this, since the distillery started production in 2014, I know it is below 10 years, most releases seem around the five to seven years from the distillery but I cannot say anything for sure. Whiskybase says 2016 and 2017 vintage bottled 2023, so prob 5 years old I would guess.
