Ardmore 13 Year Old 2008 Cask #800174 (Signatory Vintage)

A 13 year old single cask Ardmore released by Signatory Vintage in 2022 under the Natural Colour Cask Strength range, distilled in 2008 and bottled at 59% natural strength. Cask #800174 sits in the same warehouse fill series as Signatory's own #800190 (released as a 13 year old in 2021), both drawn from the same 2008 fill cluster. Signatory, run by the Symington family from Edradour Distillery in Pitlochry, has operated as one of the longest standing independents in Scotch whisky. 217 bottles for the event market.

Filled at 63.5% into a single ex Bourbon refill American oak cask in 2008, the spirit matured in dunnage at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime. Thirteen years brought the strength to 59%, with no chill filtration and no colouring applied at bottling.

Refill Bourbon at this maturity gives a clean oak frame. Cis whisky lactone reads as soft coconut and pine, vanillin from oak lignin shows as light vanilla custard, syringaldehyde adds clove. Steam era distillate reads cleaner than coal era stock, with apple and pear esters from the Kerry yeast component sitting prominently at 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.