Ardmore 8 Year Old 2008 Cask #800115 (Signatory Vintage)

An 8 year old single cask Ardmore released by Signatory Vintage in 2016 under the Cask Strength Collection, distilled in 2008 and bottled at 61.8% natural strength. Signatory Vintage is run by the Symington family from Edradour Distillery in Pitlochry, with one of the longest standing programmes in independent bottling. The Cask Strength Collection sits as their core natural strength line carrying single casks across the Scotch industry. 240 bottles for the French market from cask #800115. The 2008 vintage falls in the early Beam Global ownership period at Kennethmont, with the wash stills running under steam heating since 2001.

Filled at 63.5% into a single ex Bourbon refill American oak cask in 2008, the spirit matured at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime. Eight years brought the strength to 61.8%, with no chill filtration and no colouring applied at bottling.

At this strength and age, refill Bourbon frames distillery character cleanly with intense delivery. Cis whisky lactone reads as coconut and pine, vanillin from oak lignin shows as light custard, with syringaldehyde adding a faint clove note. Steam era distillate sits prominently at the centre with apple and pear esters from the Kerry yeast component, and 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 a long warm finish.