Ardnamurchan ArdnAmerica
Tour Bottling - Limited Edition USA only release | 57.8% ABV
Get me out of Dodge.
I’d planned to attend the Whisky Show 2023 set in the heart of London because I was told it was the best show on the whisky festival circuit. The UK’s biggest, apparently, attracting multiple thousands of whisky fans. Had I been in charge of the tickets, I’d currently be standing in a big hall with a copita in hand enjoying whatever bottle of fantastic whisky I happened to be standing in front of.
I wasn’t in charge of the tickets, so instead I’m sitting in Heathrow Terminal 5, already three hours deep ahead of the scheduled flight home, looking up at the big digital departures screen at the word “delayed”. Having walked around the whole of T5 three times already, looked through the apertures of all the velvety shops displaying £500 leather belts, staffed by well-heeled yet incredibly bored people doom scrolling on their phones, I found this latest development a little aggravating. What to do with the extra two hours I now had to kill?
It’s been busy in the Crystal factory - this week we packed up the office to relocate it 400 miles south, driving for 11 hours in a big lorry and arriving, ready to pounce into action, to find the new office wasn’t ready to accept us. That was fun. Two days of loitering while the floor was sealed and painted meant my presence was completely unnecessary; cutting losses I headed for the airport early thinking I’d have a bit of time to people watch, read my book, drink some bitter, hasty coffee and then sashay to the aeroplane. That didn’t happen. Thank goodness though I don’t have the ingrained and settled life of two adults and an eight year old to pack up, in preparation for moving 220 miles north to an island. That would be awful?
As our flight was announced the departure gate psych games start. People gravitate towards the maze of horizontal seatbelts in preparation for the social structure British Airways grouping announcements to start - groups one through three are the elite. Groups four through six are the regulars that aren’t willing to pay extra, and six through nine are the plebs, like me.
I’m usually in group eight, so stay well away from the scrum. Finding my boarding pass in preparation, I’m quite delighted to see that I’m actually in group four today, which is sort of payback for the delay, and make my way forward. Somewhere in the approaching gaggle of folk are three people playing an eight-note ditty from Sherlock Holmes, repeating ad nauseam, on wooden whistles. I think how irritating it would be to sit next to that for even the short flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh.
After getting seated in the very last row on the plane, I watch in horror as they wander onboard, anxiety rising as they make their way down the rows. With no small amount of relief they sit half-way up; from the moment they’re seated to the moment we disembark in Edinburgh they play that same phrase over and over again but, owing to the ear-bleeding screech that we lucky people endure on the exhaust side of a turbofan, it’s inaudible.
Around 11pm I got home, walking through to the door of Chez Crystal to see that more boxes had accumulated everywhere in my absence - Mrs Crystal looked feral, drinking wine from a bowl and questioning the reasons why we were doing this to ourselves. I asked tentatively if anything had arrived for me while I was away and, after the side-eye and brutal brow furrow eases, a solitary finger extended towards a small red box tucked among the others. I won’t tell you which finger.
The whisky budget has been slashed to absolute zero for the past few months, because moving house is ludicrously expensive and there’s literally no room to play in our particular case; new whisky buying is decidedly shelved for the time being. That’s not to say I don’t have new whisky to open and review, because I have many bottles stashed just waiting for the mood to strike when they’re unpacked in a few weeks.
An Ardnamurchan Inverness Shop blue-bottled triple cask mashup. A 2023 Raasay core range I received for my birthday. A Loch Lomond 10yo Extra Long Fermentation that arrived a month ago from an incredibly generous pal as a housewarming gift - Wally reviewed it not that long ago and gave it an 8/10. I’m pretty excited for that one. I’ve also got some things I’ve been storing for ages: Glen Scotia 15yo from 2021, 8yo Festival and a few other duplicates of things I’ve already reviewed.
Once we’re in the new pad, settled and the solicitors have moved on to the next body to drain, the whisky train will be chugging away full pelt, but until then I’ve got nothing to do but stagnate and open those aforementioned bottles. Sorry about that.
Which is why a message received from someone across yonder pond made my heart light up like the sun - a fellow whisky exciter who lives stateside would be coming to the UK for the Whisky Show, and he’d be bringing a special bottle with him to send to me: a gift. A gift, from someone I haven’t met, from 3,000 miles away, carried from there to here and sent to me in exchange for nothing. I protested. It was denied. I’m overwhelmed with appreciation, having never expected to lay eyes upon the bottle that he sent because it wasn’t ever destined for these shores.
Review
The ArdnAmerica Tour Bottling 57.8% ABV
£70 - Only available in the USA
Unravelling the bubble wrap to reveal the stars and stripes motif was really exciting because Ardnamurchan have very recently both redesigned their bottles and rebranded their labels. We first saw the transition with the core range AD/ bottlings earlier in the year, but since then we’ve seen the labels take on a whole new aesthetic and it’s become the best looking bottle of whisky around. Tactile, interesting, nice hand-feel, balanced, great ratio of label to clear glass allowing the whisky to refract beautifully, while keeping the info we demand clear to see.
The bottle is now composed of more recycled glass, thinner walls too. Around the base of the bottle is the phrase “Headland of the Great Seas”, and the maritime heart in me skips a beat. Shelf presence is magnificent, putting other, simpler bottles to shame. It strides up to the thin line between confidence and try-hard and stops short - a few more tweaks here and there, it would look too cluttered, too elaborate or gimmicky. Nicely done.
This release was produced to take, in its batch entirety, to the United States of America on a whirlwind marketing and expansion trip by sales director Connal Mackenzie and sales executive and part-time surfboard Carl Crafts - visiting NYC, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Boston, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Delaware. As such there was zero availability in the UK or indeed anywhere else in the world.
Unfortunate, for someone like me, who has started to take on a bit of a completionist persona when it comes to Ardnamurchan whisky. Well, semi-completist - I’m getting picky with what I buy from Ardnamurchan releases now, because despite loving all of their wares, I do lean more towards their sherry-forward gear than the bourbon. I believe Ardnamurchan matured in sherry is one of the finest whiskies around, young or old, and I’m prepared to accept my fate with those who feel differently.
Comprising a batch of 900 bottles disgorged from both oloroso and PX, both hogsheads and octaves, both peated and unpeated spirit that has been maturing since 2017, it makes the oldest component of this smashup six years old. There’s no cask list through the QR code blockchain transparency link on the rear label, which is a shame. My bottle is shown at 758 on the label, but 58 on the chain, so not sure if there’s a wee hiccup there but it doesn't matter, because I do know the second mash temperature was 86°C. I love this transparency and adds in another interactive element to the drinking and enjoying experience.
What a colour this whisky is too - deep, richly vibrant umber. Placed on the now empty illuminated supershelves, the bottle glows with promise. My face starts watering and there’s serious consideration for licking the bottle. Juicy. Interestingly enough this whisky is, and remains, cloudy. I messaged oor Gregor one night and he took a photo of his bottle, which was cloudy too. It’s not opaline, but it’s not crystal clear either. Scotch mist but at 57.8%. Interesting. I stave off the temptation to open it there an then, and instead open it a week later when, after the last echoes of the failed business trip make way for new sounds of a scratchy throat, I try to get ahead of the curve and open it on a Tuesday before any potential illness has a chance to take hold. The first sniff of the neck pour shoots the eyebrows up. It’s time to get in about it.
Nose
Neck pour tight but generous. Bright fruity redness. A bit of time and some work into the bottle reveals an overt sweet cedar loveliness. Wood is prominent but not beholden to the red fruits. It’s not over-oaked. Balanced. Subtle mint leading into the wide taste-stage of thick, sugary, cinnamon dusted apple pie, viscous honey draped over pears and cherries. Earthy, vegetal. Bit of raw corn on the cob, uncooked. Leafy. White pepper. Juicy. Bit of fresh yoghurt. Tobacco. Digestive biscuits. Solder. Tropical turquoise note - aquatonic. Chili jam atop wensleydale atop a Hovis digestive cracker that you get in multipacks at Christmas. Teriyaki sweetness.
Add water - a metallic note appears, fleeting. A synthetic chemical waft - waterproof jacket factory I once visited as a boy. Swimming pool matchbox. Burst of black pepper.
Palate
Neck pour tight - redness. A few drams later and we’re off to the races. Cedar wood - sweet, slightly spiced woodiness with a fresh minty thread, tapering to a more dull, brown like rounded cinnamon plastic tub. Oaty, sweet biscuit. Scotch tape. The Ardna character at play - coastal minerals and seasalt easily identifiable but wrapped in some juicy raisins. Salty sweet.
Adding water makes it cloudier. Saltiness has increased hugely. Mingles with a concentrated strawberry jam note nicely. It’s just a danged yum-yum.
The Dregs
Well, TL:DR - it’s another belter.
When I posted the first image of the label on Instagram, I had a few messages arrive from people saying it was good, and they were right.
I’m really enjoying the bias towards the sweet cedar, spiced side of things. It’s not a woodfest by any account, but has the right balance of sawn wood and thick fruit bowl to satiate my current phase of whisky excitement. At its 57.8% full speed there’s big waves of wood and spice, but nothing near as hot as the Madeira release. It certainly presents as a more roundly, accessible red fun-fest, which is dangerous given its ABV. Adding a touch of water ramps up the red fruits - jammy, sticky almost. It’s a task not to keep pouring, I’ll tell you that much.
The ArdnAmerica (AA) shares similarities with the Sherry Cask Release (SCR), but is definitely a separate beast. It's not smoking, despite there being the presence of peated whisky in this blend. It might appear at some point up the rear, but not yet. It's got an element of earthiness to it, but not as overt as the SCR. The AA’s got a lovely salty umami yuminess that appears in the SCR, but here it's doubled. Sweet teriyaki sauce with pomegranates squeezed over the top and an elbow of salt. A skoosh of water makes all the difference for me, removing the face punch of the more nose-burning elements - chemical, varnishy notes - and tames it down to a flowing ribbon of seriously moreish juice.
Do I prefer the ArdnAmerica over the SCR? You know, I think I do. Thinking about the SCR, it has way more savoury earthy smokiness going on - a garden hut with fresh soil laid on the floor next to a coal bunker. The AA reminds me of the CK.339 UK exclusive, maybe even mixed with the orange citrus tang of the Nickolls & Perks, two of my favourite Ardna releases so far. Would I pip it against those two for quality and impressiveness? I think I would too. It maybe doesn’t have the lights-oot Scotty Munro factor, but it’s still quite fantastic.
One day I will buy another April Fool level Ardnamurchan and I’ll be disappointed, but write about it just the same as expected. Right now I’m looking at a new pour of the ArdnAmerica in my wee copita, destined for the moving box shortly, and I just can’t quite let go of this great experience yet. A few more pours, a few more boxes, and we’ll be on our way to a new life on the Isle of Skye. Until then I’ll just kick back amongst the prison of cardboard and marvel at another belter from those magicians at Glenbeg.
My heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the generosity of Mike, aka fatenglishman, who carried this bottle from the States and sent it to me for no other reason than he wanted to. You are very much appreciated.
Score: 8/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DC