Whisky: Ardnamurchan AD/09:15 CK 632

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 59.8%

Cask: Spanish Oak Oloroso Hogshead

Age: 5 Year (Distilled Sept. 2015, Bottled 2021)

Nose: Smoke, spice, and earth. Wafting cinnamon and saltwater taffy-infused smoke as if a local seaside sweet shop had been set ablaze. Hints of salted molasses biscuits faded to reveal musty hay bails, pine, and monkey pod wood. Time to rest and a bit of water brought out hot fudge Sundays with notes of gooey fudge, vanilla cream, toasted almonds, and toffee.

Palate: Full-bodied with notes of cinnamon, treacle, coffee, and chocolate. Pain au chocolate and toasted almond croissants were enjoyed in front of a pinewood fire with the sweet smell of an old worn cedar floor. Winter markets and coffee shops came to mind with old wooden counters, dark roasted coffee, toasted nuts, bitter chocolate, and tobacco pop smoke. It was drying at the end with old tobacco and wood.

Finish:  Lingering tannic notes of dry spice and oak.

Score: 6

Mental Image: Cinnamon Hot Chocolate Antifreeze

Notes: I do not have the opportunity to enjoy much in the way of cold winters anymore, so it was a real treat to have a dram that brought back memories of defrosting in front of a warm fire and mug of hot chocolate.

If this were a tad medicinal, I would have thought this was a Laphroaig as it so neatly encapsulated the image of a burning candy shop in a bog, especially on the nose. Some of those slightly musty swamp notes disappeared on the palate while dark chocolate and coffee shop took over. The rich, spicy smoke on the nose reappeared as a more subtle pipe tobacco or fresh dark roasted coffee beans.

I enjoyed this much more than the previous unpeated Ardnamurchan that I tried. That bottle was all over the place with bold herbal and vegetable notes, which bore little semblance to the flavor profile on this bottle. It was not surprising that I preferred the peated Ardnamurchan, which felt like a forgone conclusion, but I was surprised just how different they were. Indeed, a heavily peat dram can shine at a young age when its potent phenolic edge is at its sharpest, and this was a great example of how lovely a young peated whisky can be.

Image Credit: ImpEx Beverages