Ardmore 18 Year Old 1992 TWA ‘Landscapes’

Ardmore was founded in 1898 by Adam Teacher, son of William who is well known for creating the world famous blend. Ardmore was destined to become the signature malt of Teacher’s. Ardmore is known for using peated malt – between 12 and 14 PPM – which was the usual practise in Speyside in the 19th Century. There are hardly any official releases, but all the more Indies, like this one for The Whisky Agency, in their ‘Landscapes’ series.

The nose is all soot. I get some green apples and other sweet fruit, but the soot clearly takes the upper hand. Is that the St Fergus peat? But I also get some rather unnatural aromas like AutoGlym, the stuff I use to polish the brass on my motorcycle. Bizar, but not unpleasant. Also gas, like from a canister used to refill cigarette lighters. Tobacco. And some mint, lest I forget. After a few minutes, the soot dissipates to make room for the fruit.

It is very oily and smoky on the attack. Yes, the peat is obvious now. Tea that infused for too long, a fat slice of lime, olive oil. A gulp of seawater enters the ring to battle the crispy green apples. Great stuff.

The finish is wonderfully long, dries the mouth and ends on tobacco and silt.

Well, I do not have a lot of experience with Ardmore, but if this is typical, then the distillery crawls into my personal top ten.

Find where to buy Ardmore whisky