Ardmore 12 Year Old 2009 (The Shining Dram)

A 12 year old Ardmore released by The Shining Dram in 2022, distilled in 2009 and bottled at 53.5% natural strength. The Shining Dram is a small German independent bottler whose label design programme draws on cinematic horror references, with focus on natural strength single cask single malt releases drawn from European cask broker stock. Bottled for the German market. The 2009 vintage falls in the early Beam Global ownership period at Kennethmont with steam heating on the wash stills since 2001.

Filled at 63.5% into a single ex Bourbon refill American oak cask in 2009, the spirit matured at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime. Twelve years brought the strength to 53.5%, with no chill filtration applied at bottling. The peat load at 12 to 14 ppm phenol and the 54 to 55 hour fermentation on Mauri and Kerry yeast both stayed at standard distillery spec.

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 rather than dominant smoke. Honeyed barley closes the finish.