Ardmore 10 Year Old Batch 1 (That Boutique y Whisky Company)

A 10 year old Ardmore released by That Boutique y Whisky Company in 2016 as Batch 1, bottled at 55.5% natural strength. That Boutique y Whisky Company is operated by Atom Brands with focus on comic style illustrated labels and tight batch numbered releases, founded in 2012 by Sukhinder Singh. The company has built one of the most visually distinctive identities in independent bottling, with each release numbered sequentially within distillery and the labels referencing aspects of the source distillery or the bottler community. Batch 1 marks the first Ardmore release from the bottler. 350 bottles in 500ml format for the German market.

Filled at 63.5% around 2006, the spirit matured at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime in ex Bourbon refill American oak. Ten years brought the strength to 55.5%, with no chill filtration applied at bottling. The 2006 vintage period sits in the early Fortune Brands and Beam Global transition years at Kennethmont, after the 2005 sale by Allied Domecq and before the 2011 spin into Beam Inc.

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. 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.