I tried this sample blind. And now that I’ve looked up what it is, I am very grateful for having been given the opportunity to try it by BvdP. It’s not every year you get to try Ayrshire whisky. And as the years go by, I expect the interval might even get longer, if it ever comes by again!

Ayrshire whisky is a brand name used for whisky from the long-gone Ladyburn distillery. Ladyburn was a single malt producing ‘distillery’ within the Girvan complex in Ailsa Bay. That same Ailsa Bay is now a brand of single malt whisky produced at Girvan, but from an entirely new setup.

The Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the age that gave it birth comes again.

Or, more appropriately, the distillery is long dismantled when the owner who built it starts building it again.

Anyway, extremely rare stuff. Tasted blind.

Sniff:
Orchard fruits on a bed of straw. Lots of apples, pears and even a lot of melon. Some slate and oak shavings too. After a while it becomes a little bit more tropical with notes of pineapple and a bit of chalk. Towards the end there’s a whiff of fresh ginger.

Sip:
The palate is quite intense, but not hot. There’s pepper, oak, dry barley husks and straw. Some fruity sweetness is behind that all. Apple, pear, pineapple, melon. Again, some white pepper and ginger towards the end.

Swallow:
The finish is a little bit sweeter, and seems to integrate the fruit and the sharper spices better than it did before. Melon and apple, some oak and straw.

The better integration of flavors towards the end is not something I noticed a lack of before. It just stood out that it worked so well. The result is greater than the sum of its parts, so to say. I love these fruity whiskies and this Lowlands style is not something you encounter often.

Now if only this was still available at the original price, I’d buy a bottle. Or two.

90/100