Ardmore 11 Year Old 2010 Cask #19803203 (Duncan Taylor)

An 11 year old single cask Ardmore released by Duncan Taylor in 2021 under the Private Cask Bottling range, distilled in 2010 and bottled at 54.8% natural strength. Duncan Taylor is based in Huntly in Aberdeenshire, just a short distance from Ardmore Distillery at Kennethmont, making the operation a local steward of regional Highland malt stock alongside their wider Scotch portfolio. The Private Cask Bottling range carries single cask releases at natural strength. 234 bottles for the event market from cask #19803203. The 2010 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 2010, the spirit matured at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime. Eleven years brought the strength to 54.8%, with no chill filtration applied at bottling.

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. Honeyed barley closes the finish.