Recently our friend Serge came up with a bottle of Ardmore 1993 which he thought was a real bargain. It was bottled for Van Wees, the Dutch importer for Gordon & MacPhail in Holland, but there are hardly any reviews on the web. Anyway he said it’s well in line with the recent wave of Ardmore 1992 (Whiskyman, Single Malts of Scotland, Malts of Scotland…).
Ardmore 16 yo 1993 (54,7%, G&M for Van Wees 2009, first fill bourbon barrel #5746, 225 btl.)
Ardmore 16 yo 1993 (54,7%, G&M for Van Wees 2009, first fill bourbon barrel #5746, 225 btl.)Nose: starts with a big focus on sooty notes and mineral peat, slightly more harsh than the best Ardmore 1992s. Evolves more towards fruits though, first lemon, then some green apple, than also warmer notes of banana. Nothing too rounded though, let alone tropical. Eventually vanilla and almonds as well. You can see why this kind of Ardmore has been praised so much, but it doesn’t quite have that magical edge in my opinion.
Mouth: earthy and peaty notes mixed with honeyed lemon juice and lime. Lovely pink grapefruit. Sweet almonds. Peach. A little more rounded and fruity now, nice. Also some metallic notes. Hints of liquorice in the end.
Finish: long, back on peat, a little brine and smoke. Still something metallic.
A nice peated Highlander. Good bang for your buck but it needs more time to open up than some of the 1992s and doesn’t reach the same heights in my view. Around € 50 at the time, now sold out. Sister cask #5747 (also bottled for Van Wees in Holland) is still available though.
Score: 87/100