Ardmore 25 Year Old 1997 (SMWS 66.248 Sweet Smoky Dreams Are Made Of This)

A 25 year old single cask Ardmore released by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society as cask 66.248, distilled in 1997 and matured exclusively in refill ex Bourbon American oak. The 66 distillery code is one of the most active in the Society's peated Highland output, with Ardmore appearing under both Bourbon and sherry casks across multiple decades. 256 bottles released in 2023 for the French market, with the standard SMWS policy of no chill filtration, no colouring and no nondisclosure at bottling.

The 1997 distillate falls inside the late Allied Distillers period, with direct coal firing of the wash stills still in operation. The spirit was filled at 63.5% into a single refill ex Bourbon American oak cask and matured at Kennethmont in dunnage. Twenty five years brought the cask to 56.3%, a relatively high strength after a quarter century in wood.

Long refill Bourbon maturation lets distillery character lead. Cis whisky lactone gives soft coconut and pine, vanillin and syringaldehyde from oak lignin build a baked custard and light caramel layer. Coal era furfurals from direct flame distillation read as toasted oat and pastry crust at this maturity. Apple and pear esters from the Kerry yeast component sit prominently, with inland peat showing as heather smoke, dry leaf and an earthy phenolic hum. Honeyed barley and a soft creamy lactic edge close the finish.