Ardnamurchan AD10.

Ardnamurchan AD10.21:06 - Whisky Review 161
#WhiskyReview #WhiskyTube #Scotch #Ardnamurchan #Whisky #WhiskyLock

[@welshtoro3256]

Hola Matey, Sorry for the late reply. I think I was suffering with post holiday blues when you posted this. I've still to try the regular Ardnamurchan but it will be my next purchase from them. I'm onto my second bottle of the cask strength and I recently purchased the sherry cask. I've even tried their blend, Mclean's Nose which was recommended by Ralfy but I didn't much enjoy it. Cheap enough but it tasted cheap and, yes, too young - pretty feinty. The sherry cask is pretty feinty too but it's quite interesting. I think the whisky community is going to have to undergo a recalibration of palate if it's going to enjoy whisky moving forward. The price of 18 year old whisky is becoming really prohibitive. Old heads like us have gone full circle and can enjoy young and old whisky but I don't care for it when it's so young or the casks so used up there's no age and that feinty element shines through. I'm looking at my shelf of open bottles and there are only two older than 20 years old and they are independents - a Ben Nevis and a Glen Grant, both bought years ago. I have a couple between 15 and 18 years old and the rest are around 10 years old or NAS. It's amazing how the landscape has changed. WT

[@WhiskyLock]

Hola mi amigo! The 46.8% stuff I've had from Ardna has all been good. I've tried most of the early AD batch releases now. All different, all good. I do prefer the 02.22 Cask Strength that I recently opened though. Ardnamurchan's spirit is more than ready for high strength IMHO and it benefits from it. You may be pleasantly surprised by the sherry in the ADs. They're not sherry bombs but I've found that they all have a little more sherry and a little less peat than my 02.22. So there are pros and cons to both. I haven't tried Maclean's nose but I did try the Adelphi Dancing Man blend and I don't recommend it at all, even for the low price. I agree that some degree of recalibration is required. And honestly I'm now thinking it might not be as painful as expected. Which surprises me let alone anyone else because I used to be quite the age statement snob 😉 Younger whisky can still be fantastic if done right and what's most encouraging to me is that many distilleries seem to be recalibrating themselves. No longer are new distilleries putting out 3yo whisky where the mission brief is 'this is shit but it's all we've got so far'... more new distilleries seem to be putting in the effort to make young releases good in and of themselves. It's almost like what we were promised (but never got) when everything first started going NAS. Perhaps there's hope for us all yet!

[@JeffWhisky]

Agree on the naming on the label being a bit confusing, but it doesn't take much to confuse me! The full transparency is brilliant as it lets you dive in as much as you like. Great review, of a brilliant bottle. Cheers!

[@WhiskyLock]

Yeah I very naively assumed one would be the age! Which I guess is what SWA gets wound up about when anyone does something that could be misleading... doesn't really matter a lot here though 🙂 Especially if they're just calling future batches 'AD'. The PDFs you can download are amazing. I really hope more distilleries do this. We need it and I'm very grateful that Ardnamurchan have done it. Cheers Jeff 🥃

[@WhiskeyStraightAl]

Ardnamurchan has got it all going on. Methinks there will be greater things to come. Cheers.

[@WhiskyLock]

I don't doubt it! It'll be great to see what this is like at 12-15yrs. Cheers 🥃

[@Nikolay_Nikolov]

Hey, Shane! Nice review of a great whisky. Your comments pretty much mirror my thoughts about Ardnamurchan whisky. I've been drooling over all the raving reviews of various releases for over two years until very recently when a couple of expressions finally made it to Bulgarian market. Needless to say I didn't hesitate a single bit and secured a bottle of the "core range" AD/ and a bottle of AD/09.22 Cask Strength. In Bulgaria the AD/ costs the equivalent of 45-46 pounds by current exchange rates and the Cask Strength release is 58-59 pounds. Yes, the whisky is young, but it is naturally presented, the quality is top, and as you have said before: it is some kind of crowd-funding the new distilleries. Last Thursday I opened the AD/ bottle and tasted the neck pour while watching the vPub. The one with the blind challenge 😁 I know it is a neck pour and all, but the whisky blew my socks off. Top quality, packed full of flavour, complex yet balanced. What I enjoyed the most though was that with time, air and water the whisky was morphing constantly, meandering through new flavours. I agree 100% with you about Ardnamurchan being an alternative to Springbank 10, and Kilkerran 12 I might add. As for Ardmore Traditional Cask I have tasted 50 ml miniature of it only so my experience is too limited. The transparency thing is kind of a mixed bag for me. The info for the Cask Strength release is all available, but the data for the AD/ is not. None of the "blockchain" sections has any info. Still, I've been informed that my bottle of AD/ was indeed No 12 off of 13000 bottles and the batch was AD/08.22:03 ROW.:) I'm perfectly OK with not getting the info. What I don't feel too comfortably about is being promised to get full transparency and in the end getting next to zero of it. Still, I'm willing to trade all the geeky info anyway as long as the juice in the bottles comes with quality that high or better. Cheers!

[@WhiskyLock]

Glad you managed to find a couple of bottles! I have a bottle of their CS too which I'm really looking forward to. Shame that you couldn't get the full info for your AD. I've had a couple of issues pulling up the PDFs at times too so it may be worth trying again on another day. I asked Jenny Karlsson if they're still doing the QR code PDFs going forward for this reason and she said yes. Cheers 🥃

[@Gwhisky]

I've yet to have a bad bottle from these guys. Very much guilty of all that praise you mentioned. Great video! 🥃

[@WhiskyLock]

Yeah they're just doing everything right. Almost sickening 😉 Now why can't the other distilleries do it too? Cheers Geoff 🥃

[@gareth630]

Loved you're review Lock, you know I've seen the light regarding these guys. You hit all the right notes that even doubters would struggle with 🙂

[@WhiskyLock]

Thanks Gareth. Some very good stuff coming out of Ardnamurchan already. Can't wait to see what they do in future 👍

[@andynelson5864]

Another great review, Shane. I picked up my thus-far only bottle of Ardnamurchen--the 02.22 Cask Strength--back in Februrary. Have only a little left as I didn't want to get too greedy with it; I must admit I'm rather proud of myself for making it last. Just splendid stuff! Seriously. It's earthy and funky but also jaunty and vibrant. This one boasts good depth and heft, is nicely balanced and mature, and it's big and bold but shows its stately and elegant side, too. Thus, it's complex enough to keep me securely on the ride. I'll have to jot down some more notes next time I pour a dram, but to me its smoky presence rears up towards the back end of the development and into the finish. Lovely mouth feel, too. In a word: loads of personality here!

[@WhiskyLock]

Earthy funky jaunty vibrant. That sounds like Ardnamurchan! I have a bottle of 02.22 Cask Strength too. Quickly bought one as my AD was getting low and I wanted more. Very good stuff!

[@koski1885]

Have just finished a bottle of batch 3 and picked another up at auction to replace it for £25. Also have a bottle of the new batch (just labelled AD with no numbers…) in the cupboard. Really agree with the Ardmore comparison, another of my favourites! Perhaps a touch sweeter. I thought batch 3 was at its peak half way through the bottle once it had a bit of a breathe. Thanks for the video.

[@WhiskyLock]

£25! That's such a bargain. And as I always say; it tastes even better when you know an auction bottle flipper took a loss on it 😉 I've had a few samples of other batches since I recorded this review and I've liked them all. They possibly get progressively better but all good. I haven't had the AD yet but I've got a bottle of Cask Strength that I'm really looking forward to. Glad you got Ardmore notes too. I'm very pleased about that because I miss the old 46% Ardmore. Cheers Koski 🥃

[@peathead4450]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Ardnamurchan, Shane. Interesting and informative as usual. Slàinte mhath

[@WhiskyLock]

Cheers Peathead! 🥃

[@capall80]

Thanks

[@WhiskyLock]

Thank you so much for watching and supporting the channel my friend 🥃

[@ryanmercer600]

Ardnamurchan is the epitome of well made whisky IMO. I have some single casks that were quite expensive but worth the cost. I’m sure that future bottlings will be off the charts, Best new distillery by far.

[@WhiskyLock]

Yeah there are one or two other new distilleries that I really like but overall I agree that Ardnamurchan are coming out on top. Very impressive start! I haven't tried any of their single casks but I can imagine great things and will be on the lookout. Cheers 🥃

[@howardfoster4393]

Had the 04.21:03 the 07.21:05 and currently opened is the 10.21:06. Also got an unopened bottle of the new standard release just labelled AD/. The 03 batch was superb…..salted cashews, peanut brittle, fried bananas and smouldering driftwood. However, I love them all and Ardnamurchan is definitely my favourite new distillery……although not so new nowadays. Just ordered a bottle of the new Adelphi blend Maclean’s Nose which everyone including Roy is raving about. Scored a 7 on Dramface which is one of the highest I’ve seen so I hope it lives up to it. Great review as always Shane.

[@WhiskyLock]

I agree that all the batches I've tried have been very good. I've managed to try most of them since recording this review. Very good stuff right from Day 1. I haven't tried the new AD or Macleans Nose yet but I have an unopened Cask Strength Ardnamurchan that I have high hopes for. Cheers Howard 🥃

[@Bowman1999]

Shane, great review. Ardnamurchan really do things the right way. I have a cask strength Ardnamurchan and 2 bottles of AD. Both are excellent I may get a third bottle of the AD as it is an excellent value and I have trouble reaching past it on the shelf.

[@WhiskyLock]

Ardnamurchan bottles do have a habit of going down quickly 🙂 I've already bought a replacement for this one 👍 Cheers

[@thewhiskian]

Such an apt homage to Ardnamurchan and the honest, hard-working folks there bringing us quality whisky at reasonable prices. I've likewise fallen in love with Ardnamurchan-so much so that it's replaced Talisker for me whilst Diageo continues to spiral out of control. You mentioned it in the video, though I would highly encourage you to try the cask strength releases as these are the epitome of 'cerebral' Ardnamurchan and give you a lot to explore and enjoy. Cheers!

[@WhiskyLock]

I'm really looking forward to opening my Cask Strength bottle 👍 I may have to do it soon. Very interesting what you say about this replacing Talisker. Diageo seem to be rapidly attempting to find the limits of what customers will tolerate... and this is a fine replacement. We can't rely on a company making the kind of decisions that Diageo currently are. More important than ever to support these independents 👍

[@andrewmainprice2179]

Recently tried the raasay and liked it and the price was just under £50

[@WhiskyLock]

Raasay are making great whisky too. Perhaps a little more raw than Ardnamurchan but then they haven't been around as long. Two great west coast drams 👍

[@thewhiskyenthusiast]

Great review Shane and well done Ardnamurchan for all the information! I really enjoy the Ardnamurchans I try, I juts can't remember which versions 😅 You're spot on with the Ardmore style of peat which I absolutely adore. Looking forward to some older batch Ardnamurchans, cheers!

[@WhiskyLock]

The full transparency is a beautiful thing! And yes, it's really nice that somebody had taken over from Ardmore when it comes to that toasty, Highland peat. Cheers 🥃

[@saschaoswald480]

I have also enjoyed every Ardnamurchan I've tried...very impressive stuff. The team there genuinely seems to be determined to make good quality whisky for the drinker, for a decent price. Great stuff!

[@WhiskyLock]

Yes I get that impression too. Putting the customer first! It will be interesting to see how the big four respond once distilleries like Ardnamurchan are fully up to speed. I can imagine many of them will abandon the mid ground and retreat into budget or ultra premium products.

[@domanz1]

Those boys at Arcnamurchan really do an outstanding job. The reviews on dramface concerning their harder to get bottles are mouthwatering. What I did get my hands on, was delicious. Minerals, cereal, aromatic citrus aromas that are not overwhelmingly sour... whiff of smoke and salt... as you said a very delicate whisky with a very powerful signature. The art lies in the details.

[@WhiskyLock]

Yes Ardnamurchan is definitely popular over at Dramface and for good reason. It is very impressive how nuanced and complex Ardnamurchans can be. A very impressive start!

[@lightplays2181]

Good whisky , good review ) like ! Slainte !

[@WhiskyLock]

Cheers buddy 🥃

[@gman5986]

I have the Ardnamurchan AD/02.22 and it as been open for sometime now and its just ok for me and nothing special. I am hoping it opens up to a better profile but only time will tell but I don't expect much as its such a young whisky. I also have been lucky to get a bottle of Ardnamurchan 2016 AD/12:16 CK.1308 but haven't opened it yet.

[@WhiskyLock]

Hi! I still haven't opened my 02.22... I keep meaning to! Perhaps this weekend. Fingers crossed that yours improves for you. I have noticed that many of the whiskies from these new distilleries do improve a lot with some air 🤞 I'm tempted to try the Sherry Cask Ardna at the moment. Still available for around £65 here and GWhisky's review has got me tempted. All Ardnamurchan is young of course, but I've found it all enjoyable and well made so far. Cheers 🥃

[@coppullcaveman]

Lovely stuff. Ive had 2 Ardnamurchan bottlings. First being the 02/22 cask strength and the AD 46% version. Found the AD (whilst good) slightly thin for me. The extra abv really made the difference for me. Ive got the 09/22 as well but ive not got into that yet. Ive also had issues with the QR code but i can forgive them for that as they really do make some very good quality whisky

[@WhiskyLock]

I'm yet to crack my 02.22 but I bought it when my AD started getting low for the same reason that you said; that the AD seems like a good candidate for an ABV boost. I'm really looking forward to the CS and I wouldn't be surprised if it at least gets a mention in my Whisky of the Year video. Yeah the QR codes can be glitchy. I'd recommend anyone who cares to download and keep the PDF when they have the chance. Cheers 🥃

[@simoneromanow2219]

Hi Shane, thank you for another personal and well prepared review! I love to see those individual reflections on whiskies - hyped or not. I do like the AD, it shows it’s youth and that’s okay. Good distillates are worth trying. Curious of what you think of the cask strength version of the AD.. cheers, S

[@WhiskyLock]

Worth trying indeed! I reviewed the 02.22 Cask Strength and liked it a lot. The 46.8% AD releases have more sherry and are probably the most balanced. Both are great 👍 Cheers 🥃

[@jasoncoates1835]

I like young whisky more than 95% of whisky drinkers... but I honestly can't tell whether Ardnamurchan is good or not. I've had a couple, they were "fine" ... but all I've really tasted is cask. Hopefully once it's older they'll work up the courage to release some bottlings that let us taste their whisky. Sounds like it ought to be pretty good, on paper anyway.

[@WhiskyLock]

It's interesting to see how people's tastes have changed over the last few years. Including mine. Not that long ago I would've described myself as a bit of an age snob 😉 but like many, prices and scarcity have led me to try younger whiskies and often with better results than I expected. I think more distilleries are putting extra thought into young whisky now. The competition is fiercer and you're not likely to succeed by fielding a young and immature expression. People don't accept a bad whisky anymore on the grounds that it's a Work In Progress. Saying that, I too would love to try a 12yo Ardnamurchan from Refill bourbon casks to let the spirit sing! Cheers

[@jasoncoates1835]

@@WhiskyLock Oh, I can't wait for Ardnamurchan to hit ~10... I will be back for more, no question. Like I said, I suspect the distillate is good, I'm just not entirely sure I can tell that so far. =) FWIW I'm guessing my tolerance for younger whisky comes from having entered into spirits at large by way of grappa and (often white) rum. I absolutely appreciate well-aged spirits (and own many, many bottles of same, some well over 30 years) but I guess I've never lost the taste for a distillate itself. Cheers!

[@WhiskyLock]

@@jasoncoates1835 Very interesting. You may be right about Grappa and white rum. For me it was probably Mezcal (and then rum) that gave me an interest in young spirit 👍

[@1jaasuh]

I should have waited for your review :D. Obvious youth and farmyardy notes do really describe why I dont like my bottle much (Ardnamurchan 07.21.04). My QR code didn't work, and the waffle about the block chain had me rolling my eyes. Ready to be wowed at a later date though. Thanks for calling out that Adelphi blend. I had it once and immediately decided to ignore anything Adelphi going forward. Not sure who they make that stuff for?

[@WhiskyLock]

Apologies in taking forever to get this review out 😳 as a young malt it's not going to be for everyone. But what whisky is 🙂 I have experienced some glitchiness with the QR codes and PDFs too. Sometimes it's like their server is down and you get nothing. When it first happened I was worried that the SWA had made them stop providing the info like they did with Bruichladdich but I tried again later and it was there. So my advice to anyone that has one of these bottles that cares is to try again later and DOWNLOAD the PDF so you always have it. When I talked to Jenny Karlsson recently she confirmed that they are still doing the QR code PDFs. Yeah... dancing man blend... I expected more and nobody I gave it to was impressed. It's a cheap Whyte & Mackay level blend IMHO. Everything else I've had from Adelphi has been MUCH better though.

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

Hi Shane, haven't tried that batch yet, but glad you reviewed it...I've been discovering a bit late their releases, as they were hard to find here in France at the beginning & even now, because of low allocation & distribution here, and we never see that Madeira cask come here unfortunately, which made me sad....I've tried the inaugural batch AD/09.20:01 which impressed me a lot, a monument of balance, then the first one I bought which I enjoy a lot (AD/04.21:03) & reviewed, along with the AD/02.22 Cask Strength, even if I really struggled with that one (too peppery for me, and too heavily peated, it seems that the delicate AD spirit is best served by a moderate peat, but it might be only my opinion....I've now bought the AD/ that you will see in my next video but haven't opened it yet....I agree with 90 % of what you said here, except that I don't when you said that 60 casks is "not a small batch", I disagree...it is of course all relative, but a 60 casks batch isn't a big batch (the AD/ I bought states 23770 bottles, which is ok & bit higher than regular Springbank 12 CS or Hazelburn 15 yo limited releases, but we're not in mass market amounts though & not even in average say 10 000 casks to 45 000 for big names like Glenmorangie (the latter number being for all their expressions per year, approximatively, and by liter). I also agree that it comes across as more mature whisky than many, but one has also to underline that most of those young distilleries have younger production than Ardnamurchan, or choose to bottle it at young age (like often Kilchoman did & still do at a certain extent), but you're perfectly right telling people that, contrarily to many others, they don't rely on wood technology to color & transform their liquid to make it feel older & richer....I'm really curious of what the future will bring with this distillery, if they manage to keep high the level of blending choices there, which is crucial imho...Slainte !

[@WhiskyLock]

Hi Greg. I look forward to your next video and what you have to say on it. I've tried quite a few of the early batches of AD now and I've liked them all. There are differences for sure but I think the quality has been very high from the start and I'd rank them similarly. Very impressive! That's interesting what you said about 02.22 because I have an unopened bottle of that. Heavy spice doesn't always sit well with me so we shall see! Yes, 'small batch' is all subjective. Here in Norfolk though my local distillery releases almost everything small batch and that can sometimes be as small as 2-3 casks 🙂 their most recent small batch release is 750 litres. And some of their larger batches are only 4000-5000 bottles. You are right though that there are some distilleries selling things as small batch that are far bigger. All relative. Agreed, it will be interesting to see if Ardnamurchan can keep this up. And without it becoming impossible to find too! Fingers crossed. Cheers 🥃

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

@@WhiskyLock Thanks, Shane, my video will be out tomorrow, but, warning, at a few exceptions (already opened bottles, or tried in a show) the bottles are still closed, including this "AD/" so too soon to give you my opinion about it (a few youtubers find it rather nice, but not sure they had the same batch, as now it is only to be found on back label, or, in my case, by going to the QR code when it works....). That said, I'm saying something new there I've never publicly said before about that distillery...a guess....Besides, "Single-Barrel" for US whiskey seems also to be an issue as apparently many are lying on the fact they release "single-barrels" while they are doing small batches instead, as some US youtube channels did find out, including one led by a journalist, who mentions released interviews excerpts of distillery staff members admitting this fact (I know, it's disappointing !). Cheers !

[@justwhisky]

Looks like Ardnamurchan has a great future. SB who?

[@WhiskyLock]

SB who indeed 😂

[@michaelhoresh-businesscoac8313]

Keep those extra comments coming

[@DileepB]

My bottle only says 02,22. Is 06 the age or year of the youngest spirit? 10.21 the bottling month and year?

[@WhiskyLock]

It's... less than clear, right? 😂 short answer is that your bottle was bottled in February 2022 (02.22). I also know that your bottle is Cask Strength because I have a 02.22 myself but haven't opened it yet. With the early batches (like the AD10.21:06 I reviewed) the last two digits refer to the batch. So batch 6. Bottled in October 2021. As far as I know Ardnamurchan have never put an age on the label. Although you can see the age of every cask used if you download the PDF from the QR code.

[@DileepB]

@@WhiskyLock It is unfortunate that the SWA does not allow full disclosure on the label when it is available on the website!

[@WhiskyLock]

@@DileepB yes indeed! It seems that they took the option that's least hassle for themselves rather than what's best for consumers...