Review #854 - SMWS 149.6 'Recipe for Success' - Ardnamurchan 7 Year

Ardnamurchan produces both unpeated and heavily peated distillate in roughly a 50/50 proportion throughout each year. They fill their spirit into a variety of cask types, too - we've tried everything from bourbon to sherry, Sauternes, Madeira, Mezcal, and even more. Here's a single cask example that uses the peated distillate and a first fill Oloroso sherry cask, specifically one made with the milder American oak (compared to the spicier European oak).

This is actually our first time reviewing an Ardnamurchan which was bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society; we're fans of both the distillery and the bottler, generally speaking, so we have high hopes for this one going in. We generally find Ardnamurchan to showcase a strong coastal character - let's see if that's the case here, when it's bottled by an independent.

SMWS 149.6 'Recipe for Success' - Ardnamurchan 7 Year

Scotland/Highland - Single Malt

Price: USD 155 (2023)

Age Statement: 7 Years

Strength: 61.3% ABV

Cask Makeup: First fill American oak Oloroso sherry butt

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled September 19, 2015; 642 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times (once blind) over 16 months from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Strong peat smoke, wood char, and black pepper, juxtaposed by bright notes of sugary malt, lemon-lime soda, and toasted orange peel. There's a nice funky note at times, even a bit lactic here and there, and we also get baked goods like apple pie and oatmeal-raisin cookies. Dried oats, sassafras, and mineral notes are accents.

Palate: The mouthfeel here is medium-thick. It's quite interesting, with peat and strong wood smoke, but also bright fruits of orange and other citrus, as well as some saline notes. Savory barbecue, tangy soy sauce, even Teriyaki sauce build, and we get a touch of nondescript red fruit later.

Finish: Lots of wood smoke and heather-like flowers, a bit of peat, quite intense overall. Black pepper, mineral notes, and charcoal add sharpness, while we also get lemon curd, key lime pie, and a soft meaty note. Soft, dry oak lingers in the aftertaste; it's a medium-long finish.

Final Note: This is a lovely example of Ardnamurchan, one of the best that we've tried so far, which is saying a lot considering how much we like this distillery's whiskies. While it fits into the Society's 'lightly peated' profile, we found that this was quite a smoky whisky - a decent amount of peat, but also strong wood smoke and some peppery spice, which made it more intense. Very good complexity for a 7 year old single malt, too, and we enjoyed the combination of smoke, fruits, funk, and coastal elements.

Value is just about average for this bottle. $150 or so is quite expensive for a single malt of this age, but this has tons of great flavor and complexity, and we think it was worth the purchase.

Our Rating: 8.3 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 6.14

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.