Ardmore 12 Year Old 2013 Cask #590 (Best Dram)

A 12 year old single cask Ardmore released by Best Dram in 2025, distilled in 2013 and bottled at 56.3% natural strength with a Red Wine profile. Best Dram operates from Germany with focus on natural strength single cask single malt releases and a recognisable label design programme. Cask #590 sits two cask numbers from the Wilson & Morgan #588 Pedro Ximenez release of the same vintage, suggesting both bottlers acquired consecutive casks from the same broker parcel for staged release. 165 bottles for the German market. The 2013 vintage falls in the early years of Suntory Holdings ownership of Ardmore via Beam Suntory, formed by the 2014 acquisition.

Filled at 63.5% in 2013, the spirit matured at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime before transfer into a Red Wine cask for the latter stages. Twelve years brought the strength to 56.3%, with no chill filtration applied at bottling.

Red Wine finishing contributes anthocyanin pigments, tannins and a residual wine register on top of the Bourbon base. The wine derived compounds read as red berry, plum skin and faintly resinous structure, with quercetin tannins giving dry grip. Steam era distillate underneath shows apple and pear esters from the Kerry yeast component, with the 12 to 14 ppm peat phenols reading as heather smoke, dry leaf and earthy phenolic at moderate integrated intensity. A savoury wine fruited finish closes the profile.