Ardmore 25 Year (Single Cask Nation)

 

Surprise, surprise - another Ardmore for the blog. Can I ever get enough? No, not really. This one is a 25-year from Single Cask Nation, as a part of their first release after their acquisition by Artisanal Spirits Co. I heard about this from the horse's mouth, as the owners of Single Cask Nation came to Jack Rose and sung the praises of this particular Ardmore. 

By all accounts, the late 1990s were a real high quality production time for Ardmore. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has several casks all distilled in 1997, all of which have been fabulous. I've had a few other drams of older Ardmores distilled between the mid 1990s and mid 2000s, and all have been pretty stellar. The spirit is a little gentler in that era - tea, lemon, cigarettes, motor oil, pear, and so on. 

Here are the official tasting notes: 

and the official flavor chart:

That looks supremely balanced. Bottled at 46.7% after 25 years in a refill ex-bourbon cask. Let's see how it stacks up against the other old Ardmores I've had lately:

Nose: Sticky honey, very old cigarette smoke clinging to furniture, ripe waxy pear, malted barley, vanilla custard, soft oak, sweet lemon. The honey-and-pear-and-smoke are intoxicatingly rich. 

Mouthfeel: Medium body, but nice waxy texture. 

Palate: Some numbing alcohol despite the rather low ABV, followed by honey, burnt caramel, pear, apple, coal vapors, wood smoke, cream soda (a bit effervescent), some distinct motor oil-type industrial notes (perhaps gun grease?), lemon candles, and - on the back end - a lot more of the oak. 

Finish: Medium-long. Cigarettes, pears, oil, oak, pepper, honey, more smoke, more oak. Fairly well balanced. 

Verdict: A lovely older Ardmore. How does it stack up against the SMWS and WhiskyNerds releases? Pretty well. I'd say it's closest to the most recent SMWS release ("An Aviator's Choice") except less tea and more honey. It's pretty decadent, and yet the cigarette-and-oil note keeps it firmly grounded. Just a wonderful body. As of late March 2024, still for sale on the Single Cask Nation website.