Ardnamurchan AD/ Cask Strength Release

Thanks to ronnholt for the sample. Very bold and tasty.

A very quick review from a small sample. Not a complexity monster, but the peat, grain and texture really carry it. I’ve just had the 10th anniversary version in Champagne casks and it’s great to have something this “natural” as a palate cleanser, definitely more my style.

Definitely the best Ardnamurchan I've tried. It has a distinct maltiness but not in the cardboard-like way that I've invited in other bottlings.

Very ethereal, airy nose, with iodine and marine notes, a delicate and mineral peat, limestone, quartz, some white fruits and honey, green apple, lychees. A zest of citrus fruits and fresh and vanilla touches. Very soft mouth, where the influence of Bourbon asserts itself, honey, vanilla and cereals. Mandarin, blood orange, and not so violent spices, red pepper and clove. Very powerful and quite long finish, warm liquorice, seaweed, pistachio, cola, a generous pinch of sea salt and mud. Really interesting. I really liked the nose and the finish, however, in the mouth it is not there yet. It is perhaps still too young. https://ilikesky2020.blogspot.com/2024/10/ardnamurchan-cask-srtength-release-2023.html

The alcohol pops out a bit too much for my liking, but overall it's OK and nicely drinkable.

Does not disappoint, great specs. Nice thick oily creamy mouth feel. Vanilla’s, caramel, white chocolate cream. Biscuits, custard pastries , peaty, cakes. Enjoyable malt.

Ardnamurchan whisky tasting (February 2025) 87,5 Smoky and intense, nice

The aroma was no longer pleasing, but the aftertaste was almost terrible! What's worse, you have to endure it for a very long time. In my opinion, the smoke is somehow out of place here. Difficulty of note breakdown: 4/10 21 20 18 20

sharp

Somehow not convincing, probably a bit young. No real balance, a hint of butyric acid. Wasn't ready to the market although it has much potential.

Light, dark straw color. Oily structure.

November 2026 Ara Bottle 184,000 S80

https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2024/12/08/oswas-2024-rd-part-2-2/ Initially unmoved on opening, let’s see where I see things a few months on. N: In five words: fresh clean peated potent spirit. In more words, there’s talk of salt & vinegar-ed cocoa-covered chips moving into biscuits, one pickled onion and and one or two rose petals. Not far from the ‘spirit’ of Loch Lomond’s SWC 4yo [WLP287] but without the filth, how refreshing to be enjoying an oily vegetal-sweet distillate, free from obtrusive cask action or finishes. T: There’s talk of mezcal on both nose and palate from a barley-rich oily fresh high-octane cactal arrival, a butyric note almost lifting off only for cactul cocoa to remain with some sweetness to ease the vegetal peated and bitter char notes. To read, you may think this and the Ledaig could be similar, but it’s more than fine lines. With zero flaws, this beautifully youthful Ardnamurchan sports clarity with a measured approach though it’s not for the faint-hearted either. It’s one powerful dram. F: Peated malty [butyric] vegetal cocoa with a protracted finish centred around a weighty chewy sweet peated & charred mouthfeel. C: Another Ardnamurchan masterclass showing everyone else how it’s done. Though I wasn’t enamoured with this at the outset, I’m glad I persevered. The teenagers loved it too, forgoing their Laphroaig 10 and even Thompson Bros SRV5 in favour of a cask strength young malt from a distillery in its founding years with all the signs of much more to come.

Tasted March 2, 2024 Whisky Ship Lucerne with the x leg. We came to the same assessment independently of each other. Just wanted to mention because this note is quite an outlier...

Not particularly complex but a nice, honest whisky.

Overall impression: This whisky is a delightful experience and very approachable. It has a pleasant balance, without being too sharp, and offers full flavors with a wonderfully syrupy, oily mouthfeel.

Melon medley soaked overnight in honey with a dash of macerated sichuan and cayenne peppers, a dash of teriyaki sauce, sea salt, green apples soaked in cream soda, cappuccino, and Coffee Crisp. It has a thick and chewy gentle mouth feel. It tastes like they got creative with the malting and yeast (using malts and yeast more common in beers) for the melon/honey flavours and mouth feel and that they used some recharred casks for the cappuccino and Coffee Crisp flavours - I don't know if that's the case, just that it tastes like what happened. I quite dig it, myself. It is odd and all over the place, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. It's nice having odd whiskies in one's collection.

A cask-strength Ardnamurchan that was already bottled in 2023. It will still be available in German online shops in early 2025 from €67 - €70. 13 unpeated American Standard Barrels, mainly from 2016, and two Spanish Oloroso Butts from 2017 were married with a peated American Oak Oloroso Butt and 13 peated American Standard Barrels from 2017. This resulted in a total of 10,854 bottles. This is what transparency looks like in digital times. This may be completely irrelevant for normal whisky connoisseurs - nerds want to know. Why? Because they want to know! glen-efze.de

Smoky, fruity, medium long finish

Extremely oily, nice maritime notes, citrus and fresh with a bonfire style peat smoke. Excelent value and a nice smoky robust AD.

N: smoke and lot of alcohol. S: Burnt popcorn, ash, vanilla. Full body but lot of alcohol. Need water to cut of the alcohol. Very long finish.

This 3rd edition of the core range CS, is their finest yet. Very enjoyable.

09/20/2025 - 50 ml This was the most disappointing Cask Strength I've ever had, as it resembles a high-ABV grain whisky. It's the distillery's second, and it didn't quite impress me as I'd hoped, which is a shame...