Ardmore 18 year old 2002 Adelphi, cask 285

The new year has begun — if you hadn't heard — so it's Ardmore time!

I started this practice in 2023, then continued it the following year. I enjoy doing this because I enjoy Ardmore. Then again, I fell reasonable head over reasonable heels while drinking the direct-fire-stills years (pre-2002), and even though the distillery has tried to mimic the style with steam coil kinks(!) since then, I'm not convinced the spirit is the same. But that's never stopped me from trying more and more of the new stuff, especially since the malt's peat levels are right in my happy zone (12ppm, think Benromach and Springbank).

This time around, I have seven steam-coil-era indie Ardmores for ya, including one of my own bottles. Two of these whiskies were even bottled this past year. 🤫 Yeah, I know that's crazy talk on this blog.

Going somewhat backwards, oldest to newest, I'm starting this septet with an 18 year old Adelphi that isn't dark as coffee, thanks to its refill bourbon cask maturation.

Distillery: Ardmore

Ownership: Beam Suntory
Region: Highlands (Eastern)

Independent Bottler: Adelphi

Age: 18 years old (2002 - 2020)

Maturation: refill bourbon cask
Cask #: 285

Outturn: 228 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 55.8%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

The nose starts off with wet concrete, mossy peat, cocoa powder, and cheap plastic toys, which sounds like the beginning of a sad childhood tale. It brightens up later with notes of dates, honey, and honeydew. The palate reads peatier than the usual Ardmore, bold and punchy, bitter and peppery. Some grapefruit pith here, chlorophyl there, a dab of vanilla in between. It finishes smoky and tangy, growing both sweeter and bitterer with time.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Adding water brings out the sunlight here. Now the nose is full of florals, confectioner's sugar, cinnamon, and dates, with hints of metallic smoke and shredded wheat. The milder palate remains peaty, but also has become sweeter, as the nose's shredded wheat gets frosted. It finishes with gently sweet citrus smoke.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Solid, though unremarkable, this 18yo is a more of a winter warmer than the usual Ardmore at its age. I wouldn't have been able to pick this one out as an Ardmore had I tasted it blindly. That's not a bad thing, as long as the whisky is good. As noted above, dilution does soften it up, but I think I enjoy this one heavier. Thank you to Adelphi for not suffocating this spirit with a soaked sherry hoggie. As a result there's some actual whisky in this whisky.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - was £180 in 2020
Rating - 85