Ardmore 20 Year Old is a 1996 vintage, lightly peated and double matured in first-fill bourbon casks and ex-Islay casks. An outsider in the NAS-oriented core range and particularly well priced if you look around.

Ardmore 20 yo 1996 (49,3%, OB 2017)

Nose: nice ashy peat, with a slight chalky note and also a hint of antiseptics. That must be the Islay cask, it’s not something you’d expect in Ardmore. Behind it there’s a ripe fruitiness of melons, sweet lemons, bergamots and honey. Vanilla and light pepper. Menthol cigarettes. Fresh leather (my first school bag). Mouth: quite oily...