Ardmore 10 Year Old 2010 Cask #AR1020 (Hidden Spirits)

A 10 year old single cask Ardmore released by Hidden Spirits in 2020 under the Highproof range, distilled in 2010 and bottled at 54.1% natural strength. Hidden Spirits is an Italian independent bottler with focus on natural strength single cask single malt releases, known for distinctive label design and tight selection from European cask broker stock. The Highproof range carries the bottler's core natural strength line. The 2010 vintage falls in the early Beam Global ownership period at Kennethmont with steam heating on the wash stills since 2001. 262 bottles for the European market from cask #AR1020, the AR prefix indicating Ardmore in the bottler's own numbering rather than the distillery fill number.

Filled at 63.5% into a single ex Bourbon refill American oak cask in 2010, the spirit matured at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime. Ten years brought the strength to 54.1%, with no chill filtration applied at bottling.

Refill Bourbon at this maturity gives a clean oak frame around distillery character. Cis whisky lactone reads as soft coconut and pine, vanillin from oak lignin shows as light custard, with syringaldehyde adding a faint clove edge. Steam era distillate sits prominently at the centre with apple and pear esters from the Kerry yeast component. The 12 to 14 ppm peat phenols read as heather smoke, dry leaf and earthy phenolic at moderate integrated intensity. Honeyed barley closes the finish.