Ardnamurchan 2017 Oloroso Sherry Single Cask #426 [SPIRITED. Exclusive]

An exquisite single cask bottling from the award-winning Ardnamurchan Distillery, situated near the westernmost point of the British mainland, selected and bottled exclusively for Singapore whisky enthusiasts in collaboration with SPIRITED.

Distilled in 2017 from peated Concerto barley, grown on Broomhall farm in Fife, and fully matured in an American Oak Refill Oloroso Octave, before being bottled at a robust 56.8% ABV, it boasts a rich, oily mouthfeel atypical of Ardnamurchan single malts. 

Being a refill Oloroso Octave, the cask has had a restrained, refined influence on the whisky, marrying well with the peated distillate and layering it with wonderful depth, complexity and uniqueness whilst creating a sublime balance between the farmy peat and the sweet and rich sherried character.

On the nose there are notes of salted caramel, toasted brioche, and tropical stone fruits but with a layer of fresh flowers and grassiness along with gentle campfire smoke. On the palate this translates to further flavours of stone fruit, sweet nuttiness, marzipan, and a saline smokiness, with a long, biscuity finish.

A wonderful cask selection, one which enthralls and delights the discerning drinker with undulating waves of flavour, not significantly different from the waves lapping up at Loch Sunart, near the distillery. 

Only 69 bottles resulted from the Octave cask, bottled at natural cask strength in opaque slate blue bottles, a subtle nod to the volcanic rock that surrounds the distillery on the peninsula, and reserved exclusively for single cask bottlings from the distillery. Unchillfiltered and natural colour, as always!