Whisky: Ardmore 24 Year (1997), SMWS 66.226 "Citrus-marinated beef and fruit kebabs"

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 56%

Cask: Bourbon Hogshead (21Y), First Fill Spanish Oak Oloroso Hogshead

Age: 24 Years (Distilled 23 October 1997)

Nose: Sweet marinated meats, medicinal herbs, tobacco smoke, charred fat and sugars, camphor and menthol, sooty charcoal, hints of coastal brine.

Palate: Medium-bodied, fruity and peppery, earthy, medicinal herbs and tobacco, tangy and sometimes gamey in its meatiness, subdued nuttiness, salt, dirty grills.

Finish: Long and mildly peppery with meat, soot, and herbal rubs.

Score: 8 (86)

Mental Image: Balboa Family BBQ

Narrative & Notes: Marinated and barbecued meats met muscle rub and tobacco smoke— like stepping outside a boxing gym to find sweet chili shrimp and pork belly sizzling over coals as a brawny chef rubbed tiger balm on sore muscles with a cigarette hanging from their lip. An evocative aroma with plenty of medicinal herbs, camphor, menthol, sooty charcoal, and a hint of coastal salt. Medium-bodied with a similar flavor spread, though earthier a times with sweet, fruity peppers and grilled summer fruits hanging alongside mentholated rubs and cigarettes. Tangy, almost gamey toward the end as sweet marinades and meatiness clung to the palate with a more subdued nuttiness, salt, and occasionally hints of dirty grill tops. The finish was long and mildly peppery with meat, soot, and herbal rubs.

Some of these 1997 Ardmore from SMWS have rather bizarre names, and if you put them side by side you would think someone was either designing a menu or telling the story of a steampunk squirrel apocalypse— don’t let them take control of the machines! While the names feel eccentric in isolation, when stacked next to one another, many of them are remarkably descriptive, compared to the sometimes esoteric and deep cut pop culture references on other labels.

Overall, the flavors were delicious and the finish nice and long— the medicinal herbal qualities and meatiness were well-balanced considering how strongly they came on.  The flavors occasionally felt a touch muddled and not very clean, but the whisky evolved nicely from the first sip to the last with clear transitions between the various levels.