Ardmore 1977/1995 18yo Cadenhead White Label cask 7625 59.9%
This is an older range by Cadenhead known colloquially as the White Label or Distillery Label range, and included some very big names – Port Ellen, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Springbank, Talisker and even a Glendronach – at some eye watering strengths – 64.8% Port Ellen, 63.8% Lagavulin, 63.6% Caol Ila! Now that’s cask strength. Did you know whiskies labeled as cask strength need not actually be true cask strength?
This is the Ardmore of the range, and this one is known to be a challenging whisky:
Photo Credit – whiskyonlineshop.co.uk , which is where I got this bottle anyway.
Nose: Nose-curlingly powerful, with a narrow profile. Smoked grapefruit zest, various waxes – candle wax, hair wax, furniture wax, flaky dried leather and balmy. Lots of cutting lemon juice, and freshly pulled roots. Rather austere. Also needs a lot of air. With water: More dried grass and the peat comes out more. Flinty.
Palate: Sharp and huge. Plant sap, more high octane leaf juice than whisky. With water (you must): Still quite uncompromising but sour grapefuit blended with bittergourd and more than several drops of medicine. Soot and pencil lead. Excellent.
Finish: Medium, astringent though a little short, wispy smoke, highly citric.
Very unmodern, and truly uncompromising. I like this style myself – less sweet or rich but more phenolic and ‘chemical’, for want of a better word.
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