For the one-hundredth, and final, bottling under the WhiskySponge name, Angus MacRaild chose an Ardnamurchan. In this case it’s a peated and sherry cask matured one, bottled at 100 proof (coincidence?).
The result of this choice is a rather well balanced dram that isn’t overly peated, and not overly sherried either. It actually does what you want Ardnamurchan to do: punch above its weight, especially regarding age. Price might be a different discussion, but that is not an Ardnamurchan exclusive thing.
Sniff:
Intensely mature for a seven year old whisky. Quite insane, if you think about it. There is some sherry but it’s quite restrained. A note of menthol, freshly sawn oak and a whiff of peat.
Sniff:
The palate doesn’t punch as a 100 proof dram, and it’s rather rich in flavor and quite gentle on the arrival. Oak, sherry, spices. Some dried fruit and a whiff of sooty peat. Apricots, dried strawberries, a hint of heather.
Swallow:
The palate shows a different side of the same dram. It’s slightly more fresh and less autumnal. Still very fruity with a sooty note of grilled mango, sweet orange. Oak, apricots. Dialed down on the spices.
More mature than many 10, 12 or sometimes 15 year olds. It’s ridiculous that a distillery can do this with a seven year old whisky and have a great distillery character to boot. While those two aren’t mutually exclusive, it is quite a rare appearance. Very lovely stuff, this! My ‘sample’ of about 20cl kind of evaporated. Not sure what happened there…
89/100
Malt Fascination 