Ardmore

[Adair]

I was tempted to buy a bottle of Ardmore single malt this weekend but did not because I was unsure about the age. There is no year or age statement given anywhere on the bottle. Can anyone shed light on this? Thanks!

[Soundmangt4]

Was it this one - http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-7234.aspx ?
If so, it seems to be well liked and quite a bargain.

[bkblankenship]

I was tempted to buy a bottle of Ardmore single malt this weekend but did not because I was unsure about the age. There is no year or age statement given anywhere on the bottle. Can anyone shed light on this? Thanks!

Hi,

I recommend you purchase the ARDMORE. ARDMORE is not a brand that comes to most people's minds in conversation as it is not found in most shops globally. ARDMORE is a peaty dram for a Highlander ( ARDMORE is peated at 10-15 PPM Phenols ) and is the major contributor to the TEACHER'S blends. If the one you found is the one Mr. Hughes ( Soundmangt4 ) posted, it is a sure bet. It is a distillery bottling ( OB ) and was partially aged in quarter casks. I have had it and still have an open bottle. I find it to be a nice pleasant, malty dram. If you will allow me, please don't get hung up on the lack of an age statement on a bottle of scotch. Too much emphasis is placed on age statements for marketing. There are just as many good no age statement drams as there are age statement scotches on the market. Gordon & MacPhail independent bottlers has been bottling ARDMORE for years. It is a respectable dram.

[Adair]

Thanks. I'll buy some. Just out of curiosity, though, and not snobbery, why do some distillers suppress the age?

[bkblankenship]

Thanks. I'll buy some. Just out of curiosity, though, and not snobbery, why do some distillers suppress the age?

Hi,

Many Master Blenders, when putting together a recipe will find that several different ages of the malt will be blended together in order to get the flavor profile they are looking for. Remember, it is still a single malt if a 5-year-old and a 12-year-old of the same distillery are blended together, as a single malt means a product from the same distillery. This is not a lesson as I'm sure you know this. I am emphasizing for my reply to your question. So the Master Blender may use malts from say 3 years old to 15 years old for the recipe, as an example. And the 3 year old may be a minute amount, but if the distillery puts an age statement on the bottle, it has to be 3-YEAR-OLD because it's the youngest malt in the bottle and British law dictates this. Given that, the public is not going to pay top dollar for a malt with an age statement of 3 years old. In the case of the ARDMORE TRADITIONAL, it has ARDMORE malts from larger casks ( possibly hogsheads and butts ) and it also has ARDMORE malts aged in QUARTER CASKS. Malts age much, much faster in QUARTER CASKS because more of the spirit in the cask comes in contact with the wood; therefore being a much younger malt than the rest in the recipe.

The best example I currently know of is the bottling of GLENMORANGE SIGNET which sells for ~$240.00 / bottle. It has no age statement but has GLENMORANGIE MALTS ranging in age from 10 years old to 35 years old and is widely known.

For some reason, which is unknown, many scotch whisky drinkers think 12 year old scotch is the "cat's meow". Nothing could be further from the truth. Also, many people think the older the scotch, the better. That just ain't true. Older does guarantee more expensive. Many malts can age for years and years, but some distilleries product collapses if too many years are spent in the cask.

Hope this puts the "no age statement" in perspective.

[Soundmangt4]

I couldn't agree more with Kenneth, too much emphasis is put on age, especially in the US market, where it's commonly believed that older is always better.
Some of the best whisky I have ever tasted have been quite young, including my favourite bottle right now, which is a SMWS bottling of a 10 year old single cask Laphroaig (When The Locket Burst), which is simply amazing.

[Adair]

Thank you, Kenneth, for such a thorough and informative reply. I will go and buy that Ardmore now!

[blenderm]

I've been told by someone who knows that Ardmore Traditional is a mix of Ardmore that's aged from 5 to 13 years old and was mainly from American barrels before maturing on in quarter casks.

[Unregistered]

I've been told by someone who knows that Ardmore Traditional is a mix of Ardmore that's aged from 5 to 13 years old and was mainly from American barrels before maturing on in quarter casks.

Blenderm, you are correct. Further research this morning revealed ex-bourbon casks. It is not surprising the Quarter Casks are 5 years old given how fast whisky matures in these casks. Interestingly, Laphroaig Quarter Casks is also said to be 5 years old.

[bkblankenship]

I've been told by someone who knows that Ardmore Traditional is a mix of Ardmore that's aged from 5 to 13 years old and was mainly from American barrels before maturing on in quarter casks.

Blenderm, you are correct. Further research this morning confirmed ex-bourbon barrels. It is not surprising the quarter casks are 5 years old given how quickly whisky matures in quarter casks. It is also said that the Laphroaig Quarter Cask bottling is 5 years old.

[blenderm]

I think you've picked it up wrong, the Ardmore mix was matured in american barrels then in quarter casks not that it's been matured in quarter cask for 5 years. The other point I was told is that quarter casks don;t mature whisky quickly it's that they add another dimension to the flavour.
p.s Laphroaig is a mix of 5 to 11 years old Laphroaigs

[bkblankenship]

Respectfully, I have to disagree with Blenderm on quarter cask maturation. Blenderm stated "quarter casks don't mature whisky quickly it's that they add another dimension to the flavour". Modern day quarter cask maturation has been pioneered by Bill Lark. It has been found that whisky reaches its optimum level in ~5 years. Yes, many distilleries use quarter casks for finishing, but whisky does age faster due to more of the whisky coming in contact with the wood. Quarter casks deliver the flavors much quicker due to the ratio of whisky to wood.

[blenderm]

I'm sorry I don't know who Bill Lark is but the person who I got my information from was the blender who produced Laphroaig Quarter Cask, which as far as I know was the first malt to state that they were used, and Ardmore Traditional and who designed the specific quarter casks that are used to mature these two malts. His comment was that they altered the style of maturation but don't speed up the maturation. I suppose if they did then everyone would use to quarter casks for maturation and they would save quite a bit of money.