Ardmore 22 Year Old 2000 Cask #10/1 Oloroso (James Eadie)

A 22 year old single cask Ardmore released by James Eadie in 2023, distilled in 2000 and matured in a single Oloroso sherry cask. The James Eadie operation was revived in the 2010s after a long dormancy of the family name, and the modern programme has built a strong reputation for tightly selected sherry matured single casks across multiple distilleries. The 2000 vintage falls in the final year of direct coal firing at Kennethmont, with the 2001 transition to steam ending a 103 year unbroken heating regime. 250 bottles for the European market.

Filled at 63.5% into a single Oloroso seasoned cask in 2000, the spirit matured in dunnage at Kennethmont through both the Allied Distillers and Beam Global ownership periods. Twenty two years brought the strength to 55.7% naturally, with no chill filtration applied at bottling.

Long Oloroso maturation drives the dominant cask register. Polyphenol oxidation builds rancio depth, with melanoidins from the seasoning reading as walnut, fig paste and dark caramelised fruit. Coal era Maillard products from direct flame distillation amplify the dark sugar and pastry layer. Eugenol and vanillin from the seasoned oak give clove and warm baking spice. The 12 to 14 ppm peat phenols carry through as dry leaf, heather smoke and a peat hearth note integrated with the wood derived depth.