Platinum Casks and Watt Whisky | 46% & 57.6% ABV

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Quiet and nice vs* *smoke and sweetness.*

Indies deliver over official releases - again

I always tell myself the same story; ‘No more bottles purchased for a good wee while. Need to reign it in a bit’. Then I’m scrolling through the various UK whisky auction sites, reassuring myself there’s be no harm in just having a look.

The bottles and producers I search for are always the same too. Checking out what indies are available from Signatory and Cadenheads; anything from Tomatin (I’m still on the hunt for that final Aberdeen Whisky Shop Release Tomatin single cask - two out of the three in my possession); maybe some Benromach; the odd Loch Lomond and maybe, just maybe a tasty little Linkwood.

A lot of the time my watchlist is full of stuff I know will be priced way beyond any budget I've set, and often stuff I'm not fully interested in. But sometimes you just keep a keen eye on a lot that grabs your attention.

It can be hit or miss when it comes to auction luck. The past 6 - 12 months have seen certain auction sites have such a reduction in available lots (that aren’t the Macallans going for thousands of pounds or Aston Martin Bowmores). There are a lot less Springbank 10 year olds available, and you’ll still not be able to nab a local barley or 12 year old cask strength for less than triple the RRP. I find I tend to take a bit more risk with purchasing on an auction site compared to an online retailer.

If I see something at a real decent price, even if I’ve never heard of the bottler or brand before, I’ll more than likely just go for it and see what happens. It just adds to the experience of it all, and if I get burned well I’ll take the lesson and apply it to the next auction search. Unless it’s a release on a drinks retailer online of something that folk are shouting about. FOMO kicks in and the basket is full. Oops. I can tell myself again tomorrow.

Auction sites contain some hidden gems too. Or indeed, much older bottles from decades past. A fun idea if you find a 1980’s bottling, for example, of a brand you know and have sampled before. Like I mentioned in the review of Old Forester Prohibition, it’s a fantastic way of tasting liquid from a completely different era. Perhaps different methods or processes were adopted here too? All in all, it adds to your whisky experience and expands your palate on how modern liquid tastes compared to whiskies of old.

Another brand that I would buy a fair amount of on auction sites is Ardmore. I’ve managed to pick up a good amount of it in the past 12 months, and don’t think I've picked up a dud…yet. My love for Ardmore leans toward the many independent bottlings, as opposed to the paltry official range from Beam Suntory.

Indie Ardmore is instant add to watch list. I’ll try to get that bad boy for sub £50 if I’m lucky. Ok, and maybe the odd bottle of Teacher’s Highland Cream from time to time, if it’s Christmas or… something.

Going back to the FOMO, a bottle split is a solution for certain bottles released. Jackie, Dougie and I managed to split a Fragrant Drops Ardmore that we first sampled at Glasgow Whisky Festival. No brainer there and an absolute delight of a dram.

Ardmore, in my opinion, remains an overlooked distillery and not one folk have on their radar that much. Which, you know, is great for me. More choice for Hamish! It’s sad, and crazy how different the experience can be from an Ardmore indie compared to their official releases. I see the Ardmore Legacy every week doing the grocery shop and it sits around the £30 mark more often than not. great value, but I’ve paid less than that for one of the bottles I’m reviewing today, and not much more for the other. Both of which have provided me with joy, comfort and whisky excitement.

Again, lucky purchases but haven’t gone too wrong with Ardmore yet. It isn’t the only producer that’s found wanting by fans and enthusiasts alike when it comes to their official releases. After Dougie’s revelation with his Jura find, a Cadenhead‘s manzanilla release, it’s another distillery alongside the likes of Highland Park and some of the main Diageo stalwarts that perform much better as an indie than they do in any official releases out there. It’s almost a shame to realise the potential these brands and liquids have, untapped by their owners.

This review is all down to North Coast Drammer Tony. He was generous enough to send me a sample of an SMWS Ardmore. This was a 9 year old finished in ex-rum barrels coming in at 62.3% ABV. Belter of a dram. I think he had this with the Hallions in Glasgow back in 2022, and was a favourite amongst them all. This will be another bottle I’m on the hunt for, although I don’t think there’s going to be too many of them left sadly. And there I go again…

Review 1/2

Ardmore 6yo, The Artemis for Platinum Casks by Whisky Broker, 46% ABV
£25 paid at auction excluding fees

This Ardmore is part of The Olympians series from ‘Platinum Cask’ bottled by the folks at Whisky Broker. The bottle celebrates Artemis, Goddess of The Hunt. I picked this up recently at auction for £25. Nowhere on the bottle does this state it is non chill filtered, or natural colour. But given the pale nature of the liquid we can assume this is probably all natural, and given this is from Whisky Broker we can assume this is also non chill-filtered.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Quiet at first, but develops to become a nice dram*

Nose

It’s taken a bit of time to tease some notes out of this one. Surprisingly quiet in my opinion. After a while it starts to develop a nice malty note with custard cream biscuits. There’s vanilla wafer, smooth caramel and chopped hazelnuts.

Very subtle smoke, a little hint in there that’s the perfect ratio to the sweetness involved here. Touch of maple syrup and lemon curd. Ever so slightly you can pick out a soft oregano note toward the back end of the nose, although it’s hidden. Lasting elements of wet gravel, an old book and some green olives too.

Palate

Black pepper. Salted crackers, smoked cheese and charred wood. Bread soaked in olive oil. Pineapple cubes, chewy toffee and strawberry bon bon sweets.

Super long finish on this one. Wow. It’s nicely balanced with a sweetness and waft of smoke medley that gives off such a clean and crisp taste right into the finish. A touch lactic at times too with hints of whole cashew nuts.

After a while it brightens up and comes alive more. Lemony, more malt and delicious moreish smokey elements throughout.

Score: 6/10

Review 2/2

Ardmore 9yo, Watt Whisky, Distilled 2011 and bottled 2021, 238 bottles, Natural Colour, Non chill-filtered, 57.6% ABV
£40 paid at auction excluding fees

A Watt Whisky release from back in 2021. Managed to pick this beaut up for £40, without fees when it’s still available online now for around £70-75.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Deliciously balanced smoke and sweetness*

Nose

Bacon fries and smokey bacon crisps. Cold slices of honey roast ham. White pepper. Sliced tomato and cold, raw mushrooms. Incredibly malty with some wet sand in for good measure. Damp wood and moss. Slight hint of lavender. Very powerful dram on the nose with this high ABV, but not off putting. The peat greets you with some apple acidity and rounds off nicely with some salt and lemon too.

Palate

A delicious balance of sweetness and smoke. Toffee mixed with loose tobacco shavings and dark roast coffee. The toffee turns into a heavy salted caramel, think big chunks of rock salt. Also some dense sponge from a christmas pudding in there. A nice oily whisky, great mouthfeel and a lingering smoke hit that’s intertwined nicely with cola cube sweetness and smoked cheese. Wonderful stuff.

Score: 7/10

The Dregs

While I took a punt on the Artemis Ardmore, it was pleasant to read that it was sourced and bottled by the folk at Whisky Broker. A bottler that I haven’t purchased from directly (due to mad shipping costs to Northern Ireland), but some of the other Dramface writers have picked up a few in the past and haven’t been disappointed.

The Watt Whisky expression was an exciting buy for a great price. Ever since I did a run through the 2023 Winter outturn from them at the end of last year, I trusted them as an indie bottler. Trust is a big thing when it comes to picking the particular independent bottler I think with so much variety and choice out there. It’s hard not to get overwhelmed. But, stick to a brand/expression you know and sometimes you can’t go wrong.

This little side by side was a lot of fun, and I was excited to share my thoughts on these 2 with you all. Both didn’t disappoint, and offered a lot of the same character and experience while being two different bottle strengths too. For a 6 year old peated highlander, there wasn’t one indication here that this was on the ‘younger’ side. It was a well rounded dram, offering a nice weight and grip to each sip. To me, an absolute bargain! I do think this can be picked up in auction if anyone is still on the lookout.

The Watt Whisky bottle, what can I say? Delightful. Engaging and packing a punch with flavour. I’d have paid the asking price for this at around £70 - 75, yet another wee bargain picked up and I can’t believe my luck with it. The bacon fries and smoked cheese aspect of this cask strength Highlander is so enjoyable. While we’re still getting battered here in Northern Ireland with rain and cold temperatures, I'll keep it on-hand until it turns a bit warmer. Summer’s just around the corner right?

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. HF

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