Ardmore Tradition

This NAS peated Highland malt is a travel retail exclusive. It's double matured, being finished in quarter casks. I don't know what style of casks are used for the initial maturation, but I would guess a combination of ex-bourbon and sherry and a mix between (mostly) American and European oak. It is 46% ABV and is non chill filtered. Artificial color is added unfortunately, making it a bright gold. Earthy peat smoke is the first thing that greets you on the nose. Lovely smoked meats (brisket or ham). Strong brown sugar/molasses. Raisins and dried figs and a light oak. After time in the glass a strong vanilla cream pops up along with toffee and caramel. Cardboard notes come in followed by floral honey. After that it kind of keeps switching between the smoked meats and musty cardboard. It shows its youth at times but also has some complexity to it. The palate brings nice mid levels of peat smoke. Rich soil, in a good way, and more of the smoked meats. A slightly malty character. Some vanilla and not much more than that, at least not that I could detect. Light oiliness in the mouthfeel that turns semi dry. The finish is medium long, smoky and semi sweet. I got this one at duty free and paid somewhere around $40 (maybe closer to $35) for a 1L bottle. Exceptional value/quality if I do say so. The smoked meat notes really reminded me of Ardbeg Corryvreckan, with much less complexity and intensity. The peat levels are somewhere between Lagavulin and HP, enough to excerpt itself but not enough to overpower your senses. I have to say this is my new favorite non Islay/island peated scotch. Cheers

Finished watching South Carolina defeat Duke for entrance into the Sweet 16 bracket. Fun game to watch while sipping on this whisky thanks to Paul. A straight forward nose with essentially three elements: peat, fruit cocktail and brine. Vanilla and oak do, however, hover buried further back. On arrival, it is deep and warming to the core, courtousey of the high ABV. Peat and brown sugar are balanced and the two binary flavors dance: one step, peat; two step, brown sugar. The dance continues and dances away to a hot and spicy peppery finale. The finish is oaky and sweet with vanilla-honey and smoke/ash. The flavors don't remain long and I wished it to last longer. I found this to be more on par with an Islander than a Highlander. This has the foundation to be in the upper tier of peated whiskies, but I find it lacks a maturity as it feels somewhat forced to "grow up"; artificially expeditited to give a superficial maturity (if that makes any sense). That being said, this is still a rather enjoyable. The peat and sweetness make it a nice wintertime warming dessert. [Dry Glass: Salted Caramels][85/100][Tasted: 3/19/17]

After i gave the Ardmore Traditional Cask a solid 5.0, i was eager to get my hands on its succesor, the Ardmore Tradition and it didn't dissapoint. First you have to understand that Ardmore Traditional Cask was my second favorite Whisky ever, and it was discontinued, to be replaced with "TRADITION", and i hoped i could be happy with this new expression. Eventhough i like the Traditional Cask better, this one is a solid, balanced dram, very enjoyable. Bottled at 46% abv, with an Old Gold Color. On the Nose it is perfect, very peaty, with prunes, vanilla, butter, nutmeg and chocolate powder notes. On the palate is where it lost some points, but mainly because i compare it to the other Ardmore i love so much. Very balanced flavors, with notes of nutmeg, pepper, peanut butter, liquorice, hot oak, ashes and a nuclear spice bomb, very pleasant but hotter than the Traditional Cask that it replaced. Finish is very long and mouth watering, and it resembles a little to Highland Park 12yo. Overall it is a wonderful dram, 93 out of 100; love Ardmore. Get your hands on it, even if it is only for the travel retail market. Cheers!

Nose: Smoke, caramel, oak char but with a sharp sour edge like mouldy hay. Palate: A cereal dominated arrival with some fruity and vanilla bourbon flavours and smoke. There’s some salted-caramel toffee in the development but it’s overshadowed by a herbal, grassy quality that develops into a sour bitterness. It’s something like the flavour of herbal cough lozenges and wet paper. Finish: Medium and rather dry. The sharp and slightly salty-sour herbal character intrudes too much. Not a favourite - too many off notes all over. OK as a mixer, but the sour notes still intrude. My taste was from a half-empty bottle at a B&B on Islay last year that provided a small selection of miniatures and bottles for guests (pour yourself a dram and leave a coin in the tray). It’s possible that it was badly oxidized and a fresh bottle would be more attractive. “Inferior” : 67/100 (1.5 stars)

First, this is not the Traditional Cask release from Ardmore. This is a newer travel retail exclusive. It's a NAS quarter cask finished Highland scotch that's non-chill filtered, but has color added and comes in at 92 proof. I believe the bottle runs $40-45. The nose is very inviting: there's an abundance of vanilla, some oak cask and a gentle wisp of smoke. On the tongue there's an initial creaminess that washes away with an excellent level of peat smoke without much bite from the casks. The finish is medium length, warming and really smooth and creamy. What a nice little dessert dram. I wouldn't mind having a full bottle of this just for a nice after dinner drink. If it's true that this is a $45 (per 1L) single malt then this is a fantastic value. If you see this in a duty free store pick it up. You won't be disappointed one bit. Closer to 3.75 stars than 3.5. Cheers.

This reminded me a lot of HP12---I got the salty, briny, lightly peated aroma. I was surprised it's a Highlander, felt much more like an Islander. Maybe this distillery is located closer to the ocean? Anyway, the nose then carries through into the palette with citrus, smoked meats, and a bit more assertive on the peat. For $40-50 per liter, it hands down is a no-brainer buy, especially in a toss up between this and HP 12. A sample graciously provided by Paul M---thank you Paul!