Ardmore 26 Year Old 1997 (SMWS 66.257 Fern and flame)

A 26 year old single cask Ardmore released by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society as cask 66.257, distilled in 1997 and matured exclusively in an Oloroso sherry cask. The Society's 66 distillery code has been one of the most active peated Highland output channels since the 1980s, with the 'Fern and flame' descriptor signalling the meeting of dark sherry character with Ardmore's distinctive inland peat. 261 bottles for the German market in 2024, with the Society's standard policy of no chill filtration and no colouring at bottling.

The 1997 vintage falls inside the late Allied Distillers period, with direct coal firing of the wash stills still in operation through the distillation. The spirit was filled at 63.5% into a single Oloroso seasoned cask and matured in dunnage at Kennethmont. Twenty six years brought the strength to 53.2% naturally.

Long Oloroso maturation drives the dominant cask register. Polyphenol oxidation builds 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 layer. Eugenol and vanillin from the seasoned oak give clove and warm baking spice. The 12 to 14 ppm peat phenols carry through as dry leaf, heather smoke and a peat hearth note that integrates with rather than dominates the wood derived depth.