I'm pretty sure I am the only one who benefitted from this cluster. Here are the things I "learned":
- Ardmore is a very very very good single malt.
- When matured in hogsheads it can be too young, too oaky, or fabulous.
- When matured, even partially, in sherry casks it can be amazing or not.
We all knew this, yes?
The intent behind this cluster really wasn't to glean any deep understanding of the Great and Powerful Ard. Rather, I wanted to greet 2023 with a dozen pours of decently aged malt from this Kennethmont distillery as a way to convince the universe that this January didn't need to be the 37th month of 2020; like a prayer to appease the Whisky Kami, Whisky Buddhas, and Whisky Ganesha. And with all that heresy, I've probably doomed us all. At least the whisky was good.
The cluster did bring the blog its first and second 90+ point non-1992 Ardmores, including my Whisky Doris bottle, and possibly the best sherry cask Ardmore I've ever had. In fact, the cluster members were so good overall that I forgot there was one semi-stinker. But the most satisfying result was the proof that there isn't just one magical Ardmore vintage (aka 1992), rather the distillery's direct fired stills produced excellent stuff right up until the end. As for the steam-coil heated stills......that's a tale for another day.