Of all the unknown or little-known distilleries out there, Ardmore is my favorite. I have had some really incredible bottles from Ardmore, both official (the old Ardmore Traditional Cask) and single cask independent bottlings from various places. This bottle is a lightly peated expression from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), called A Doric Takeaway (your guess is as good as mine - more at the end of the review) and aged for 7 years in first fill bourbon barrels, bottled a very robust 61.4%. Part of the 2021 Highland Festival.
Here are the official notes:
Savoury aromas of grilled bacon, pretzels and black pepper-coated peanuts nestled beside an abundance of toasty cereals and coal soot-dusted seaweed. In the mouth an exuberant spice was complemented by charred wood dipped in honey and vanilla icing over burning heather and applewood smoked ham. Oily notes emerged with water before salted liquorice and burning tar moved towards dried herbs and dark treacle on crispy rye bread. A tingly palate now embraced menthol and peppermint with applewood smoked duck, baked orange and lemon skin while on the finish came barley sugar sweets and toasted fruit loaf.
Bacon and pretzels? Yes please. I am all over this description - give me more! Let's go...
Nose: This reminds very very strongly of the first Ardmore I received from the SMWS, cask 66.165, "Mesmerizing and Entertaining," which was filled with oyster brine and shellfish and savory scents of the sea. A lot of consistency with that bottling here.
I get brine, gentle green olives, salt (lots of salt), minerals, shells, seaweed, light and airy peat, soft smoke... There is also a backbone of malt barley sugars and vanilla, but they are solidly integrated into the coastal experience. Red wine vinegar. Coal. This is a surprisingly coastal, sea-side nose. Oysters. Baked clams. Hints of bacon (like those little dried bacon bits you put on salads). No pretzels, though.
With water: Very little change. It gets a bit oilier, as the official notes state accurately. I didn't get the licorice or treacle, but I certainly got the crispy rye and the tar. This is one of my favorite noses in quite some time - it's really unusual. Smoked salmon?? There is a lot of interesting coastal angles here - from toasted grain to hints of sweetness to seafood to herbs to a strong and assertive salinity.
Mouthfeel: Thin, oily.
Palate: Interesting palate - diverges a bit from the nose - peanut brittle, black pepper, honey, more bacon, big alcohol wash-through, some rosemary and thyme. Salt. Shells. Coal. LOTS of coal - it dominates the last part of the development.
With water: This changes a bit with some water, the malted barley comes out a bit more along with a subtle grassiness. The peanut recedes, as does the bacon, but the olive and honey and pepper remain. It becomes something of a seafood picnic by the sea, eating smoked oysters with a little peppery olive brine (reminiscent of a dirty martini), or clams baked with smoked herbs over a charcoal briquette grill. The high alcohol strength really serves to make every flavor very vivid. Intense palate here.
Finish: Medium length - crisp, with sweet vanilla undertones balanced out by peat, salt, pepper, brine, oak.
Verdict: Another victory for Ardmore, in my book - but at the same time, I think there are a lot of people who will hate this. It's very specific - with the high salinity, the high amount of oceanic content, the high amount of minerality - it's not for everyone. If you like Laphroaig, Ardbeg, or Talisker, chances are you might like this: but nothing I've had is exactly like it, so it's hard to really draw a close parallel.
I am a little curious about the nickname: A Doric Takeaway. Doric as in the Greek culture of the Dorians? As in Doric columns, the Doric order? I did a Google search and found no other references to "Doric," so it must be. And "takeaway," as in the UK term for food you pickup from a restaurant and bring home to eat? So this is a Mediterranean-oriented savory dish? That's my best guess. I *have* had some great Greek seafood in my time, so I can halfway meet them on that... but this is one of the SMWS nicknames that had me scratching my head a bit. If anyone has a better guess, or I'm missing something obvious, please comment!
I could drink this all day. Lovely stuff. Highly recommended, if you see a bottle or a sample at auction and feel adventurous.
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