Whisky : Ardmore 12 Year SMWS 66.141 “Roofing felt on a beach hut”

Country/Region : Highlands

ABV : 60.5%

Cask : Refill Hogshead

Age : 12 Years (Distilled 9 March 2006)

Nose : Rich caramel and butterscotch escape halfway out of the glass before they are overtaken and wrestled to the ground by some delicious funky vegetation.  It is as if the classic sweet notes were a gazelle and some funky dried seaweed chased them down like a lion.  Salt air and seashells take over the nose giving this dram a lovely coastal edge along with bits of fruit like a shipwrecked banana boat.  The two sides of the nose coalesce into the faintly peppery licorice of shiso leaf.

Palate : Jungle fire on a deserted island— burning palm fronds, burning seaweed, burning coconut, the burning sweet grassiness of sugar cane— everything is one fire.  Charred fruits and kuromitsu brown sugar syrup offer up lovely sweet notes which are cut by bits of citrusy lemon and orange.

Finish : Lingering caramel and vanilla, lovely burnt oaky notes.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Beached Banana Boat Flambée

Something Better : Port Charlotte 8Y Dramfool (more complex, similar starch/cream banana, more decay)

Something Similar : Amrut Peated CS (similar caramelized tropic fruit, more spice, less sugarcane)

Something Worse : Glenfiddich Fire & Cane (similar tropical fruit & cane field fire, less intense, less finish)

Notes :  A lovely Ardmore loaded with plenty of tropical island notes and no lack of fire.  This dram was spirited and packed full of flavors.  There were so many sweet bits of the charred tropics that it was difficult to remember adding any water or giving the dram a moment to breath.  Just a few whiffs and that was all I needed to want to dive right into the glass and take a dip.

This Ardmore was a wonderful combination of creamy banana and fruitier malt notes with the heavy smoke of a bonfire— it was not as earthy or maritime as many heavily peated Islays, but it was delicious.  There were some of the burning sugar cane field notes that I really enjoyed in Glenfiddich’s Fire & Cane, but cranked up to high volume.  Yet, despite pronounced flavors, the dram is incredibly friendly and easy to drink.  I have had a few SMWS expressions that I thought would have been better as blend components— this one needed to be bottled and enjoyed as a single cask.