Ardnamurchan AD/08.23:02 USA

Bottled in August 2023 as the second batch of that month, AD/08.23:02 in this USA market expression is an Ardnamurchan core release at 46.8% ABV from ex Bourbon casks only. The distillery filled 15,000 bottles for North American distribution.

Production follows the standard Ardnamurchan regime. Concerto barley is milled into a copper topped semi lauter mash tun, fermented 72 to 120 hours in stainless steel on a single strain distiller's yeast, and double distilled through copper pot stills with reflux boil balls to a new make of 74 to 76% ABV. The spirit is filled at 63.5% and matured on site at Glenbeg in dunnage warehousing, where cool humid coastal air slows extraction relative to rack warehouses.

Single cask type maturation in ex Bourbon American oak focuses the cask contribution on vanillin and the cis isomer of whisky lactone, with toasted oak sugars driving honey and caramel development through Maillard chemistry. The cleaner American oak palette suits the distillery's lighter new make character, with peated phenols (guaiacol, syringol, 4 methylguaiacol from St Fergus Highland peat at 30 to 35 ppm) from the peated portion of the split production integrating without competing against sherry darkness. The result is a Core Batch profile geared towards the US market preference for vanilla forward, lighter sherryless Highland malt.