Ardmore 25 Year Old 1997 Cask #5566 Oloroso (Gordon & MacPhail)

A 25 year old single cask Ardmore released by Gordon & MacPhail in 2023 under the Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength banner, distilled in 1997 and matured exclusively in a single Oloroso sherry cask. The vintage sits inside the late Allied Distillers period that fed nearly all Ardmore production into Teacher's Highland Cream, ending in the 2005 Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands carve up of Allied Domecq. G&M held the dominant single malt warehouse position for Ardmore through these years. 231 bottles for Europe.

Filled at 63.5% into a single Oloroso seasoned cask in 1997, the spirit matured in dunnage at Kennethmont under the direct coal fired wash still regime that ran until early 2001. Twenty five years brought the strength to 51.1% naturally, with no chill filtration applied. The peat load at 12 to 14 ppm phenol and the 54 to 55 hour fermentation both ran at standard distillery spec through the period.

Long Oloroso maturation drives deep sherry character. Polyphenol oxidation gives rancio depth, with melanoidins from the seasoning reading as walnut, fig paste and dark caramelised fruit. Coal era Maillard products from direct flame distillation amplify the dark sugar and pastry register. Inland peat phenols fold into the wood derived depth as dry leaf, peat hearth and a smoked tea note. Eugenol and vanillin from the seasoned oak build clove and warm baking spice that lift through the finish.