Ardmore 14 Year Old 2009 Cask #709316 (Berry Bros & Rudd)

A 14 year old single cask Ardmore released by Berry Bros & Rudd in 2023, distilled in 2009 and bottled at 53.6% natural strength with a Madeira profile. Berry Bros & Rudd's single cask programme has run from their Number Three St James's Street base in London since the 1990s, with Ardmore appearing across multiple releases over the decades. Cask #709316 sits in the 2009 #709xxx cluster of Beam era distillery fill casks that appears across multiple European bottler releases. 245 bottles for the European market. The 2009 vintage falls in the early Beam Global ownership period at Kennethmont with steam heating on the wash stills since 2001.

Filled at 63.5% in 2009, the spirit matured at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime in a Madeira seasoned cask through the period. Fourteen years brought the strength to 53.6%, with no chill filtration applied at bottling.

Madeira at this maturity delivers a distinctive fortified wine character driven by oxidative ageing. Furfural and 5 hydroxymethylfurfural read as caramelised raisin and dried apricot, with the heated estufagem process used in Madeira production contributing roasted nut and toffee notes through the wood. 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 integrated intensity. A long sweet smoky finish closes the profile.