Ardmore 13 Year Old 2010 Cask #100804029 (Elixir Distillers)

A 13 year old single cask Ardmore released by Elixir Distillers in 2024 under The Single Malts of Scotland range, distilled in 2010 and bottled at 53.7% natural strength. Elixir Distillers is the bottling operation behind The Whisky Exchange retail business, with releases drawn from extensive single cask inventory built up over decades. The Single Malts of Scotland range carries their flagship single cask single malt line. 209 bottles for the European market from cask #100804029. 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. Thirteen years brought the strength to 53.7%, 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 rather than dominant smoke. Honeyed barley closes the finish.