Review #980 - Ardnamurchan AD/ Peated Sauternes Cask Release

Ardnamurchan has released whiskies from a huge variety of casks, and now we're looking at a Sauternes cask release from 2025. We've actually tried a few Sauternes cask Ardna's in the past, including the 2025 edition of the ArdnAmerica Tour bottling, which was lovely.

At this point, Ardnamurchan has released both peated and unpeated varieties of their Sauternes release; this is the former, with 100% of the distillate used being peat smoked. A total of 29 casks were selected for this batch, and all of the casks of spirit were distilled in 2018; all of the spirit first spent around 3 years in ex-bourbon casks before being re-racked into Sauternes wine barriques. They then spent 3.5 years in those Sauternes casks, so we're expecting the wine to have a decent influence here.

When released in 2025, a total of 8,460 bottles were produced at a strength of 50% ABV.

Ardnamurchan AD/ Peated Sauternes Cask Release

Scotland/Highland - Single Malt

Price: USD 85 (2026)

Age Statement: 6 Years

Strength: 50% ABV

Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon casks, finished in Sauternes wine barriques

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled 2018, bottled 2025; 8,460 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 2 months; bottles at 80% and 10% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: A medium level of peat, pretty earthy, and the spirit behind that is light in complexion: yeasty, tart golden apples, hay, dry pears, a bit spirity. We get a sort of farmy funk and some industrial oily notes, and the oak is adding a starchy side. Vanilla, white pepper, white grape, and honey were accents.

Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. Grilled hot peppers, sharp strong peat, and sharp white stone fruit lead a somewhat spicy arrival. Tart peach, golden raisins, golden sugar syrup, and apples give way to hot honey, lemon soda, and a youthful spirity note.

Finish: Soft tannins build - decent wood spice, and the peat smoke has a medium influence at this point. Honey, lemons, vanilla, and starchy oak are accented by mineral notes. It's a medium length finish.

Final Note: This Ardnamurchan does show some of those classic Sauternes cask notes - honey, light orchard fruits, very 'golden' in color in general. It does taste a bit young though, even considering that oak spice we found, which was very prevalent in the finish. It's a decent whisky, but it hasn't developed too much complexity yet at the age of 6 years.

Value is a bit below average too. Ardnamurchan typically brings very good value, but we didn't think this was one of their best entries so far. It's alright, not a bad malt, but we would lean toward other releases from them.

Our Rating: 6.0 / 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: 5.51

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.