The Malt Cask

A quick review of a sample of Ardmore 9 years old bottled by Chorlton Whisky. Ardmore is not a very popular distillery. It is in the Highlands to the east of the Speyside region. You do not come across many official bottles apart from the Legacy, the Port wood and the 20 years old released a couple of years ago. Even amongst independent bottlers, it is not a name you will see frequently on labels. I reviewed the Legacy a couple of years ago and though that for the price it was relatively good value for money. I tried the Port wood which I enjoyed and now my first single cask. This whisky was drawn from an ex-Bourbon barrel and only 153 bottles are available. As it is only 9 years old, it is quite pale in colour. It is bottled at natural colour and strength (60.1%) and it has not been chill-filtered.  Nose: Sweet and smoky, a little bitterness/spirit driven (young + 60.1% abv...) There is quite a bit of fresh citrus notes in there, hints of ginger and a bit of white ...

Something very affordable today. This is one of the first few bottles I bought when I started getting into whisky. I picked up the Ardmore Legacy on offer in my local supermarket for £20 so not too dear indeed. I had never heard of Ardmore, but after Bowmore and Caol Ila, and realising that I really enjoyed a peaty dram, I came across this bottle. On the packaging it says "Lightly peated, Light and sweet, with unique Highland peat-smoke notes". Based on the description and the price, I didn't hesitate for long and put a bottle in my basket. Opening it at the time, I remember thinking it was definitely not in the same "peat-league" as the Caol Ila, but that it was still rather pleasant. Now, since I bought this bottle, I got to try and buy many others so I am now reviewing it, not as a whisky expert, but as someone with a little bit more experience. So as you might expect, the Legacy isn't a dram I tend to have very often because in my mind, I have several...