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Ardnamurchan AD/Sherry Cask Release NAS OB 70cl 50% ABV
Distilled 2018 & 2019, bottled September 3, 2024
A mix of 19 Oloroso butts and 2 Pedro Ximénez butts (8 unpeated and 13 peated)
Bottle 10/1,600 (exclusive to the American market, from a total release of 21,000)
Color: mahogany. Absolutely stunning.
Nose: smoke, chocolate-covered nuts, raisins, lacquer, peaches, figs, dates, damp newspaper, soy sauce, caramel, peat, a hint of rubber, tobacco, tea leaves, cherries, and mint. A lot of unmistakably typical sherry notes, yet they take their time to emerge, starting off muted and only unfolding with time.
Taste: cherries, peat, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, pepper, licorice, sea salt, vanilla ice cream, and lemon zest. Not overly sweet, with beautifully balanced salty, maritime accents.
Finish: cherries, peat, honey, more pepper, salted caramel, chocolate, and cocoa.
Score: 8 ½. Good. +1+2+1.
Conclusion: a pleasantly enjoyable malt with well-integrated sherry influence. Keeping the proportion of PX casks to about 10% was a wise choice, ensuring the sweetness doesn't overwhelm the balance. The aroma, however, remains somewhat weak, though I'll still bump the total score up to 86/100. Unfortunately, their usually reliable QR code fell short this time, failing to provide full details on my bottle. The cask data above is based on the European release. This batch is often mistaken for the previous Ardnamurchan sherry edition from 2023, which included slightly more casks but yielded significantly fewer bottles — a direct result of that mix containing smaller hogsheads.
Distilled 2018 & 2019, bottled September 3, 2024
A mix of 19 Oloroso butts and 2 Pedro Ximénez butts (8 unpeated and 13 peated)
Bottle 10/1,600 (exclusive to the American market, from a total release of 21,000)
Color: mahogany. Absolutely stunning.
Nose: smoke, chocolate-covered nuts, raisins, lacquer, peaches, figs, dates, damp newspaper, soy sauce, caramel, peat, a hint of rubber, tobacco, tea leaves, cherries, and mint. A lot of unmistakably typical sherry notes, yet they take their time to emerge, starting off muted and only unfolding with time.
Taste: cherries, peat, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, pepper, licorice, sea salt, vanilla ice cream, and lemon zest. Not overly sweet, with beautifully balanced salty, maritime accents.
Finish: cherries, peat, honey, more pepper, salted caramel, chocolate, and cocoa.
Score: 8 ½. Good. +1+2+1.
Conclusion: a pleasantly enjoyable malt with well-integrated sherry influence. Keeping the proportion of PX casks to about 10% was a wise choice, ensuring the sweetness doesn't overwhelm the balance. The aroma, however, remains somewhat weak, though I'll still bump the total score up to 86/100. Unfortunately, their usually reliable QR code fell short this time, failing to provide full details on my bottle. The cask data above is based on the European release. This batch is often mistaken for the previous Ardnamurchan sherry edition from 2023, which included slightly more casks but yielded significantly fewer bottles — a direct result of that mix containing smaller hogsheads.
