Ardmore 12 Year Old 2002 (SMWS 66.71 An Apothecary On A Motorcycle)

A 12 year old single cask Ardmore released by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society as cask 66.71, distilled in 2002 and matured in refill ex Bourbon American oak. The Society's 66 distillery code has been one of the most active peated Highland output channels since the 1980s, tracking Ardmore's progression across both coal and steam eras. The 2002 vintage falls in the first full year after the 2001 wash still heating conversion at Kennethmont. 217 bottles for the French market, with the Society's standard policy of no chill filtration and no colouring applied at bottling.

Filled at 63.5% into a single ex Bourbon refill American oak cask in 2002, the spirit matured at Kennethmont in dunnage. Twelve years brought the cask to 53.8%, a relatively low evaporative loss for the period.

Refill Bourbon at this age frames distillery character cleanly. Cis whisky lactone gives soft coconut and pine, vanillin from oak lignin shows as light custard. Steam era Ardmore reads cleaner than coal era stock at this maturity, with apple and pear esters from the Kerry yeast component dominating the centre. 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 and a soft lactic creamy edge close the finish.