Ardmore 8 Year Old 2011 (King Cask)

An 8 year old Ardmore released by King Cask in 2020, distilled in 2011 and bottled at 59% natural strength across a combination of ex Bourbon maturation and a Rum cask finish. King Cask is a small Netherlands based independent bottler with focus on natural strength single cask and small batch single malt releases drawn from European cask broker stock. 228 bottles for the Dutch market. The 2011 vintage falls in the early Beam Global ownership period at Kennethmont with steam heating on the wash stills since 2001, and was bottled before the 2014 sale of Beam Inc to Suntory Holdings.

Filled at 63.5% into ex Bourbon refill American oak in 2011, the spirit matured at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime before transfer into a Rum cask for finishing. Eight years brought the strength to 59%, with no chill filtration applied at bottling.

Rum finishing contributes residual sugars, caramelised molasses character and additional ester complexity on top of the Bourbon base. The rum congeners read as brown sugar, dunder and a tropical fruit edge. Steam era distillate underneath shows apple and pear esters from the Kerry yeast component, with the 12 to 14 ppm peat phenols reading as heather smoke, dry leaf and earthy phenolic at integrated intensity. Chocolate, citric edge, coal gas smoke and leathery oily notes close a long finish.