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KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 10 - G&M Distillery Label Ardmore 2000

Posted on December 10, 2023

We already talked about Distillery Label bottles from Gordon & MacPhail with Glentauchers back on Day Four of this year’s KWM Whisky Calendar. Well, we are back to that subject again with this G&M bottling of Ardmore.

Ardmore Distillery was founded in 1898, and since the beginning, its focus has been on peated whisky production. The Highland distillery was purpose-built to provide whisky for blending, as pretty much all distilleries were at the time. However, with Ardmore that hasn't changed much - even today just about all of Ardmore's production is still being used for blending, trading stock, or selling. Ardmore features prominently in the Teacher’s Highland Cream blended Scotch Whisky, as it has since its inception.

Only a small portion of the distillery’s Single Malt Scotch lands in official bottles released by Ardmore and its parent company Beam Suntory, and the only official bottle that makes its way to Alberta is the Ardmore Legacy, which we featured in a few years back in the 2020 edition of the KWM Whisky Calendar. The 40% ABV, no age statement Ardmore Legacy is, to put it politely, a bland, boring and terrible representation of what this distillery is capable of. Three years past the blog post I wrote on it, I am now comfortable admitting my tasting note for it is full of artistic interpretation.

Wait a minute - I guess all of my tasting notes are when it comes down to it, so that is just stating the obvious. My tasting notes should never be taken as gospel or a reference of factual information. Nobody’s tasting notes should be. Anyhow: try the Ardmore Legacy for yourself when you are able. I hope you find more in it than the watered-down to oblivion and lacking almost any quality of good Ardmore whisky version that I did.

One of the reasons Ardmore is the heart of Teacher's Highland Cream and also sought after by independent bottlers is that just about all of the whisky produced at the distillery is moderately peated. I have only tasted one unpeated Ardmore that I can recall. There is also a lighter-peated style that the distillery makes which is sometimes dubbed Ardlair. I suspect some of the Ardmore I have tasted have been this style, which tends to amp up the sweet, creamy and fruity notes of the whisky.

Beam Suntory seems to treat Ardmore as the red-headed stepchild in its Scotch Whisky portfolio. When it comes to profile and releases, Bowmore and Laphroaig get plenty of attention, being the Islay darlings that they are. Auchentoshan in the Lowlands gets a similarly prolific treatment. Even Glen Garioch gets more single malt releases and attention, and that is saying something!

Every giant spirits company is guilty of this. Far, far more Blended Scotch than Single Malt Scotch worldwide. They have their distilleries that they shine a spotlight on, and then they have their production workhorses that are crucial for their blends and do not need marketing and releases to showcase what they do. We talked about it already in the 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar with Diageo’s Teaninich Distillery and Pernod Ricard’s Glentauchers Distillery. Now the same is being said with Beam Suntory and Ardmore. I am sure we will run into more whiskies in this year’s Calendar where more of the same will be expounded upon.

That is one of the great things about whisky from Independent Bottlers though: Showcasing a Single Malt Scotch from a distillery that does not get the attention it deserves in official bottlings. Will this release of Ardmore from Gordon & MacPhail exceed the standard set with the official Ardmore Legacy? It should, given that it is bottled at 46% ABV and likely far older given the year 2000 vintage.

If it doesn’t, I might just eat my hat. Because I am pretty sure even that would have more character and flavour than the bottle of Legacy I tasted did.

G&M Distillery Label Ardmore 2000 - 46%

"Hot take: the G&M semi-official Ardmore, bottled under the Distillery Label series, is far superior to the official branded releases. It's also abundantly clear that Ardmore is being handled with love and care at Gordon & MacPhail, where they match that big earthy, organic spirit profile with incredibly complimentary cask types. In this case, Refill Sherry Hogsheads. Miss this one at your own risk."

Evan's Tasting Note

Nose: I am not sure if there is bacon in my oatmeal or oatmeal in my bacon, but this might just be the best breakfast ever. Bacon, peppercorns, honeyed grains, apple juice, raisins, waffles fresh off the iron, maple syrup, and a dash of salt.

Palate: Sweeter than I expected with more waffles covered with honey and maple syrup plus grapefruit juice, oatmeal with peach and pear slices and cinnamon,

Finish: Sweet grain with salt and pepper on the fade.

Comment: I love Ardmore as much as I love a good Sunday breakfast it seems, and one always reminds me of the other. This is great sweet, smoky and salty whisky.

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Facebook & Instagram: @sagelikefool

You can find all blog posts for Kensington Wine Market’s 2023 Whisky Calendar Here

This entry was posted in Whisky, Whisky Calendars, Independent Bottler, KWM Whisky Calendar 2023

 

 

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