"Not quite what I expected. "Jim. Any ideas on improving the flavour profile?" ask the nice man from Ardmore distillery when they were originally launching the thing. "Yes, cut out the caramel." "Ah, right..." So what do I find when the next bottling comes along? More caramel. It's good to have influence... Actually, I can't quite tell if this is a result of natural caramelization from the quarter casking or just an extra dollop of the stuff in the bottling hall. The result is pretty similar: some of the finer complexity is lost. My guess, due to an extra fraction of sweetness and spice, is that it is the former. All that said, the overall experience remains quite beautiful. And this remains one of my top ten distilleries in the world." -Jim Murray, "Whisky Bible" 89 points

Review

"Not quite what I expected. "Jim. Any ideas on improving the flavour profile?" ask the nice man from Ardmore distillery when they were originally launching the thing. "Yes, cut out the caramel." "Ah, right..." So what do I find when the next bottling comes along? More caramel. It's good to have influence... Actually, I can't quite tell if this is a result of natural caramelization from the quarter casking or just an extra dollop of the stuff in the bottling hall. The result is pretty similar: some of the finer complexity is lost. My guess, due to an extra fraction of sweetness and spice, is that it is the former. All that said, the overall experience remains quite beautiful. And this remains one of my top ten distilleries in the world." -Jim Murray, "Whisky Bible" 89 points