Even though Ardnamurchan is still young whisky, like yesterday’s 1770 and quite some others nowadays, Arnamurchan seems to have an old soul. This whisky tends to punch above it’s age, and works well in a variety of casks.

Knowing this means that when your friend HE, one of the 12 Barrels, has bottles for sale, you go for at least one. And once again, I wouldn’t mind having another one for a later date. Even though I seem to say that a lot, when most of the bottles are gone they stay gone, and I don’t mind. This one though…

Ardnamurchan distillery was founded by the people behind the Adelphi brand and started production in 2014, which means there’s bound to be a ten year old next year. I’m a bit scared for the price, though.

Sniff:
It’s very much an Oloroso cask, with lots of slightly yeasty sherry notes. A dark fruitiness on top of that, with warm and sweet barley. After half a minute or so, notes of Tonka beans and chocolate pop up as well. Even though there are quite a few notes of pastry and pastry-adjacent things, it’s not an overly sweet nose. It’s actually quite savory, with a bit of coastal salinity too.

Sip:
The palate is fierce, which is not surprising with it being more than 60% alcohol. The Tonka beans and chocolate continue, as do the notes of sherry. There’s a bit more barley and oak than there was on the nose though. When the alcohol settles a little bit and your tongue regains consciousness you start to notice the dryness of the palate too, with a bit of an almond flour and cherry stone bitterness.

Swallow:
The finish is dry and starts with quite the afterburner. The high ABV makes sure you remember it before it leaves. Then the dry notes of wood and barley, yeast and dark fruits show themselves. Again, very much a finish of Oloroso sherry. The cocoa and Tonka beans are mostly gone, now.

As you might have guessed by now, I really enjoy this dram. It doesn’t try to lie about it’s age, but has already developed quite a complexity and depth of flavor. The fact that the cask isn’t overly prominent and leaves some space for the rich spirit is rather lovely.

89/100