Ardmore 2009

Our first experiment in marrying the very vegetal and balsamic whisky from this unique Highlands distillery, with the sweet and fruity flavours from a Hungarian dessert wine cask! We chose an almost completely unpeated whisky from this distillery, because the flavour profile would fit better, and we love the result. At the nose it’s only slightly honeyed, and even less obviously winey (although there is a slightly pungent touch of ripe fruit). Quite waxy, a bit leathery, and even piney, with a nice background of cereals, but still respectful of the distillery style. Taste-wise, it’s fruity but not exceedingly sweet. The honeyed character of the wine marries well with the leafy and piney note of the whisky. There is beeswax, but it’s not fat: on the contrary, it’s extremely mineral. Towards the end, a blast of white pepper, apricots and mirabelles shines through.