Yup, another Ardmore. I love it. The fact that it’s a peated whisky that tastes different than the most famous peated whiskies from Islay, and that they don’t push the peat to the brink of the ashtray sits very well with me.

Then, when SMOS releases one, I tend to pay attention. The Whisky Exchange / Speciality Drinks Ltd. / Elixir Distillers are known for their high quality bottlings, and these Single Malts of Scotland releases tend to be acceptably priced too. As in, not ridiculously expensive, compared to some other highly regarded brands.

Sniff:
Distinctly smoke, but surprisingly fatty. Chimney soot, smoked cheese. Quite some heather, and some salinity too.

Sip:
Intense with papery ash, soot. Some oak, burnt heather, rosemary, other herbs. Slightly creamy, lemon balm, some smoke too, but mostly sooty.

Swallow:
A gentle and long finish, a grainy note is there that wasn’t very pronounced before. Smoky, sooty, some oak and quite some burnt herbs.

And this one does things quite right. A rather unique approach to peated whisky, and therefore a rather unique whisky. It shows the ingredients in barley, oak and smoke. I like that it’s dry with some weird notes withouth turning too sweet. Very, very good stuff.

88/100