Ardmore 2008 10yo
Mossburn Vintage Casks | 46% ABV
Score: 5/10
Average. In a good way.
TL;DR
Ardmore should be more distracting than this
How do these things happen?
This is such a strange industry. At times, you have to scratch your head and wonder what marketing and planning departments are thinking about. Ardmore is a great example.
Owned and operated by Beam Suntory, a seemingly clueless company at the best of times, the treatment given to this venerable hidden gem is nonsensical. I recall the days when there wasn’t even a distillery bottling and then, hey presto, the calls from all those who were asking for it were answered; only we’ve somehow arrived at Ardmore Legacy. Frankly, its only ‘legacy’ is that everyone tastes it and asks ‘Why is this so insipid? Where’s the Ardmore we know and love?’
Those that ‘knew’ about the distillery had been spoiled, you see, by the plethora of 1990s & 2000s independent bottlings that were often so rammed full of rich fruit and sweet smoke, or sometimes they were heavily peated and vigorous, while other times they offered gentle smoke over a cool vanilla-oakiness. Ardmore was the one dram that could, in the darkness, lead them. Beguiling, different, a chameleon; the David Bowie of the whisky world.
From an indie it was pretty much always a stellar dram, and that was the only way of getting hold of it. For the powers that are currently in place to have gone through their entire catalogue of casks and land on the watered-down, cabbage soup and drain water that is the Legacy… Well, it just beggars belief. And should anyone at Beam suggest there are not enough Ardmore casks available to choose from, then I suggest you get out of the way of their rapidly extending nose before it hits you.
This of course smacks of ‘oh so you think you could have done a better job?’ Actually yes, I think I could have, I even asked for a chance - prior to Legacy - but that’s another story for another time.
You have to wonder at what point any real care was taken. You have to wonder if anyone at Beam understood what Ardmore whisky is about; its history; its place in the single malt whisky drinker’s mind. Having had the pleasure to taste hundreds of different casks and bottlings, and knowing Ardmore as well as I do, and loving it as much as I do, I am just so glad that the independents still have access to this great malt. They are, for now, the light that never goes out.
I believe the official Legacy bottling is so poor, that official Ardmore has never recovered. Wally touched on something similar recently with regards to an Aultmore, but the strangeness of this industry means that a new bottling coming from a previously ‘lights on’ distillery can make it seem like suddenly, no one is home; a first release that’s not only below par but, for want of a better word, bad.
Thankfully, we have oodles of independent bottlings to choose from. And to Ardmore’s credit - with a good two solid fingers up at Legacy - these are mostly excellent. Some in the 8/10 or, dare I say, 9/10 point category.
However, spoiler alert, the Mossburn tasted today isn’t.
Review
Ardmore 2008, 10yo, Mossburn Vintage Casks Series, Bottled 2019, Batch 10.1108 / No. 25, 46% ABV
£67 some availability
Score: 5/10
Average. In a good way.
TL;DR
Ardmore should be more distracting than this
Nose
Initial hit of petrol before a hint of freshly baked crumble. It is quite oily on the nose; think rapeseed oil, cooked oil – kind of like the smell of a pan that has cooked a fried egg. There’s a herbal thing going on around the edges of the nose. Definitely more on the roasting side of herbs; thyme and sage.
At 46% I’m not going to bother with water at all, the nose has zero alcohol prickle (or maybe my nose is now needing a bigger hit of alcohol to get prickled?). With a bit of time there is just the barest whiff of ripe fruits; pears and peaches – that kind of thing, but it’s so faint that it’s possibly just me wanting this to be better than it is.
Palate
Sweet, round, malty, slightly spicy and a nice vanilla-laden peatiness. It’s a very pleasant dram, the oiliness is just right, but I can’t help finding myself slightly disappointed with it. The palate is missing oomph – no better way to describe how my palate is wishing there was just a bit more.
The finish too, which is perfectly adequate, again just lacks a bit of ‘something’ that would turn this from a dram I would read a book with to a dram I would recommend to a friend.
The Dregs
I guess the point I’m making above is that, like the Legacy, I would not recommend this Ardmore to a friend. At £67 its flavour profile and satisfaction-inducing qualities do not match its price-tag. Sub £40 is where it should be. £67 will get you a far more lip-smacking Ardmore from other independent bottlers, many of whom have not blended casks together or reduced to 46%. Most are head and shoulders above this.
I find Mossburn a curious outfit. Their over-fussy labels and cartons give the product a sort of ‘established’ feel, but then you discover they’re actually a new kid on the block. When you dig deeper, you note that the bottlings are a side-attraction, a money-earner if you will, to the company’s distilleries; Torabhaig and Reivers. I know there have been some better Mossburn bottlings but the Ardmore in question here, being a blending of different casks and bottled at 46% (and again with that retail price of £67 for a 10yo) just leaves me unlikely to seek out others in the future.
One of the hazards of being an independent bottler – you often only get a couple of strikes before you’re out. Some only get one. It is most definitely a ‘5/10. Average. In a good way’. You’re going to drink this, no problem, but you’re also going to realise you could’ve had just as much pleasure - maybe a touch more - from two bottles of something else for the same money.
The light hasn’t gone out, it’s just burning a little dim.
Score: 5/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. FF
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