Whisky : Ardmore 13 Year SMWS 66.160 “Tense mysterious suspense”

Country/Region : Scotland/Highlands

ABV : 55.3%

Cask : Virgin Oak, Heavy Char #4 Hogshead

Age : 13 Years (Distilled 6 March 2006)

Nose : Fruit, earth, and grass— an orange creamsicle rolling in the dirt and dried grass.  Old hay, petting zoo pen, and beefy jerky take us through the nutrient cycle and highlight grassy, funky, and meaty notes.  Antiseptic notes of band-aide, salts, and sticky bandage adhesive develop on the nose.

Palate : Bursting ripe lychees, rambutan, and creamy vanilla custard recall an unblemished fruity creamsicle.  Sweet grassy notes hint at freshly mowed lawn along with a kiss of sweet char like the caramelized topping of creme brûlée.  The dram is medium bodied with quite a bit of oak tannins.  Near the end the antiseptic notes of used band-aids appear.

Finish : Lingering funky cinnamon caramel apple.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Dropped Ice Cream Cone.

Something Similar : Bunnahabhain 8Y SMWS 10.173 (similar creamsicle/grass notes, more butter/herb)

Something Worse : Amrut MaQintosh Silver Edition (similar grass/lawn, less complex, less body)

Something Worse : Brenne Single Malt (similar creamsicle/fruit, more artificial banana, less complex)

Notes : A really mellow Ardmore with barely any smoke and more antiseptic notes than I expected.  Ultimately, this was a pleasing mix of fruity malt layers with a heavy dose of tannins and vanillin from the virgin oak.  While the nose had a bit of delicious funk to it, the palate remained a bit simpler with more emphasis on fruity notes layered over some intriguing grassy character.

This was an interesting amalgam of different Ardmore notes packaged in a new way.  It is almost like a band released a new cut or remix of their old tried and true material.  The only thing that would have made this better was if some of the meaty notes of the nose came through on the palate, or if there had been more of the rich smoke sometimes present in Ardmore.  Overall a quality dram and another quality grade for Ardmore.  It may not be my favorite distillery, but the consistent quality between single cask expressions is amazing.