Review #879 - ImpEx Collection Ardmore 14 Year Single Cask
In June 2026, we attended a whisky tasting centered around the ImpEx Collection, a series of releases from small independent bottler ImpEx Beverages. This company is the importer for a number of spirits brands in the United States, including well-known single malt brands such as Ardnamurchan, GlenAllachie, Kilchoman, and many more.
This tasting covered the 5th edition of the ImpEx Collection, which is being released in 2026. While there are a couple of world whiskies and a rum included, this outturn mainly focuses on Scotch whiskies - that's what we looked at in our session. All of these releases bear markers of high quality: all non-chill filtered, there's no added color, everything is transparent about age and cask type, and everything is bottled at cask strength. There were six samples in this tasting - this review is one of those six.
Ardmore is generally classified as a "lightly peated" whisky, with its barley being peated to a specification of around 12ppm to 15ppm, quite a bit lower than other peaty single malts such as Laphroaig and Ardbeg (in the 40ppm to 55ppm range). Still, we've generally found a decent smoky influence on the Ardmore single malt that we've tried; this one should show off that distillate character, too, as it was matured in a plain ex-bourbon barrel for 14 years.
ImpEx Collection Ardmore 14 Year Single Cask
Scotland/Highland - Single Malt
Price: USD 129 (2026)
Age Statement: 14 Years
Strength: 59.2% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon barrel
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; cask #802498; distilled June 9, 2011; bottled September 15, 2025; 169 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Bright and fizzy, with lemon-lime soda, coastal notes of salt, and some soft peat - a bit of charcoal, too. Dry, musty wood smoke builds in intensity, accenting the smoky side of this nose.
Palate: Quite fizzy like the nose, and charcoal and ash accent the peat smoke, which builds to a medium influence. Buttered croissant, lemons, and refined white sugar underscore the malty spirit side of this palate.
Finish: White pepper and black pepper add some spice to start the finish. Heather, woody notes, and a bit of a grassy side build; it's a sharp finish, but in a pleasant way.
Final Note: A solid Ardmore - nothing too fancy here, but this bottle does show that smoky distillate character and some classic ex-bourbon Highland single malt characteristics. Some bright fruits, baking spices, and charcoal... lots to like about this bottle, although it isn't the most complex whisky. Value is about average in our books, too.
Our Rating: 7.5 / 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: 5.94
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.
