...where distraction is the main attraction.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Single Malt Report: Ardmore Traditional Cask (re-reviewed)

Within walking distance of our home there's a pub that once had a number of interesting whiskies.  It was from my visits to this establishment that I produced my first review of Ardmore Traditional Cask.  That bottle has since been emptied, as has all of their interesting Scotch.  *hiccup!*  Now that I have my own bottle of the Ardmore Traditional Cask, I've decided to study the whisky further in a controlled environment and give it a proper re-review.

I like Ardmore, a lot.  A lot alot ALot.  You haven't seen much in the way of Ardmore reviews here because there are times when a reviewer's enthusiasm for a brand or distillery can get the better of him resulting in bloated scores which is something I'm trying to avoid.  Also, I'm hoarding.

Anyway, there's a sad lack of official Ardmore single malts.  They released high strength 25 and 30 year olds but the prices on those can be a bit steep.  There are no other bottlings with age statements.  There was only this NAS Traditional Cask.  It's a real bummer because most of the indie Ardmores (with some age behind them) that I've tried have been delightful.  In the past I've encouraged the Beam reps I've met to propose to the powers-that-be to put out one or two simple age-statement releases.  Even one Ardmore 10 would be swell.  They were already doing a good job with Trad Cask's 46%abv and lack of chillfiltration.  But it seems as if Beam and their reps were focused 100% on Laphroaig, which isn't hard to understand.  Meanwhile the rest of Ardmore gets dumped into the Teacher's blends.  (More on Teacher's another time.)  So, again, we were left with the Trad Cask and the expensive stuff.  Note the "were".  This thought will be continued after the review below.
As you can see, Mathilda finished her breakfast faster than I finished mine.
DistilleryArdmore
Bottling: Traditional Cask
Ownership: Beam Suntory
Age: 6 to 13 years (including one year in quarter casks)
Maturation: ex-bourbon barrels then quarter casks (the "traditional" casks)
Region: Highlands (Eastern)
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Bottle Code: L8 107 08 3ML
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Coloring? Probably

NEAT
The color is dark gold, almost DiageoGold™.  There's a whole lotta buttery oak on the nose right at the start.  Next up, an anise-like herbal peat note.  That's followed by a sugary barbecue sauce, chicken stock, yeast, salt, and smoked apricot.  There's a hint of lemon and considerable caramel.  The palate notes progress from ash → brown sugar → tannic dryness → iodine.  There's also a sweet note, like peat syrup in Cool Whip.  Lots of cinnamon candies too, along with mint jelly.  The finish is medicinal, like a Laphroaig-lite.  There's some wood smoke and vanilla.  The mint jelly becomes mint gum.  There's a nice length and it (thankfully) sheds the dryness.

WITH WATER (approx. 40%abv)
The anise note remains in the nose, as does the caramel and big oak.  Some honey edges in, along with apples, a little toasty peat, and something orangey.  The palate gets a little oaty and slightly butyric -- almost a relative of Tobermory.  It gets somewhat drier and now there's wood smoke and burnt paper, anise and wormwood.  A little more mossiness enters the drier finish.  Some newspaper without the ink.  More oak/caramel.

So, yes, thanks to the quarter casks utilized in the whisky's finish, there's plenty of oak swimming around.  But, when neat, it's not bad.  But if you don't like the oak on Laphroaig's Quarter Cask, you're not going to like it here either.  Trad Cask a little weirder than Laphroaig Quarter Cask, with quirkier character and less peat.

My bet is that there's A LOT of the younger stuff and just a little bit of the older stuff.  I really enjoyed this bottle, but I'm going to be lowering rating from its original 88.  The whisky seems to rely too much on the oak and not enough on the spirit.  And because it's missing well aged malt, it's also missing the great interplay of fresh fruit and bonfire smoke present in my favorite Ardmore indies.

It's still one of the few lower-priced peated single malts and it is most definitely not an Islay.  But it's not the All Star I once thought it was.  If you can find it for $30-$35 that's a good deal, but once it hits $50 it becomes difficult for me to recommend.

Availability - Most specialty retailers
Pricing - $30 (yay!) to $60 (boo!)
Rating - 83


......

Oh, one final thing.

Under Suntory's ownership, a new official Ardmore has been released.  And it is replacing the Traditional Cask.  It's called Ardmore Legacy.

No, it doesn't have an age statement, which isn't necessarily a tragedy.  But the most important thing you need to know about Ardmore Legacy is that the whiskymakers have chosen to revolt against the craft presentation movement and go the opposite direction.  Yes, they are replacing a 46%abv non-chillfiltered whisky with...

...wait for it...

...a 40%abv chillfiltered whisky.


Finally, an Ardmore I'll never buy.