Following up my review of two younger, fantastic Ardmores, today I’ll take a look at two older IB Ardmore from Maltbarn and The Archives.
Ardmore 2003 Maltbarn 18 Year Old / 51.9% ABV
Tasted neat
Moving onto the older category, this 18 year old Ardmore from Maltbarn was distilled in 2003, matured in a sherry cask, and then bottled in 2021 with an outturn of just 122 bottles.
- Color: russet (1.3)
- Nose: a little smoke, smores, floral; lilacs, ground nutmeg, and clover
- Taste: some peat smoke, honey, blackberry, leather, brown sugar, and a hint of citrus
- Finish: medium, sweet, with vanilla, and sherry
A lot of the distillery character here has been softened by the sherry, but you end up with a rich, lightly smoked dessert whisky that is undeniably delicious.
Rating: 7/10
Ardmore 1999 Archives 19 Year Old / 55.8% ABV
Tasted neat
Moving onto the older category, this 19 year old Ardmore from Whiskybase’s The Archives: Fishes of Samoa imprint was distilling on 29.09.1999 and laid to rest in ex-bourbon barrel #801661 for 19 years until it was bottled on 07.03.2019. This series is cask-strength, non-coloured, and non-chill-filtered.
Going purely off the ABV, this is likely a less-active barrel which should balance showing off Ardmore distillate with a nice, but unoverpowering, feeling of stately age.
- Color: burnished (1.1)
- Nose: peat smoke, camphor, salt spray, honeysuckle, vanilla, and lemon slices
- Taste: oaky, rich toasted sugar with crushed almonds, peat smoke, some iodine, and lemon peel
- Finish: medium; oily tropical fruits
The balance here is perfect, this is undoubtedly still Ardmore, but it’s pleasantly aged, sweet, and oaky.
Rating: 8/10
