Whisky : Ardmore 8 Year; Cadenhead’s Sherry Wood

Country/Region : Scotland/Highlands

ABV : 54.2%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon (7y), Ex-Sherry (1.5y)

Age : 8 Years (Distilled 2010, Bottled Spring 2019)

Nose : A smoke shop— but not tobacco; smoked spices, campfire infused cherry candies, smoked bbq sauce, and salty smoke flavored potato chips.  Sweet caramelized fruits, grilled marshmallows, cinnamon sugar toast, and baked mountain apples.  Beyond the fruit and toasty sugars lies a bit of earthy coal smoke and faint bit of swimming pool chlorine. 

Palate :  Medium bodied, it is sweet and creamy with rich smoke notes lingering behind the heavy sherry cask influence.  Caramel fudge, rubbery red vines, smoked vanilla pudding, grilled coconut— there are all sorts of rich dessert notes.  Bit of sulphur, chocolate covered espresso beans, and leather oil give some funky notes that follow the initial sweetness.

Finish :  Lingering astringency with cola, bitter cocoa, and butterscotch.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Dark Chocolate Berry Custard Frappacino.

Something Better : r/scotch Ardmore 10Y (more tropical fruit, more smoke/fire, more complexity)

Something Similar : Laphroaig PX (similar burning candy store, more pungent, more smoke)

Something Worse : Glenallachie 7Y SMWS 107.17 (similar red vines and candy, less balance, no smoke)

Notes : If you love heavily sherried malts with a strong smokey backbone— this might be perfect for you.  This Ardmore had loads of young, spirited, and bold flavors.  This was as close to a ticking sherry bomb as I want to be, I can only assume that the cask Cadenhead’s used to finish this was an incredibly wet first fill that needed an equally bold whisky to take off some of the edge.  

Time to breath and a bit of water tamped down some of the dominant sherry influence and brought forward more creamy pudding notes.  While that was lovely, it came at a cost, water dissipated many of the rich smoke notes, which left the dram feeling a bit simple.  A few drops of water was enough to smooth out the rough edges, but in the process highlighted the youthful simplicity of the dram.

Overall a lovely Ardmore, not quite my favorite, but if you love a heavy handed sherry influence, then this is possibly right up your alley.  I gave it a few extra pluses on the grade because this was quite good, but it really was not good enough that I want a bottle for myself.