Ardmore 8 Year Old 2009 Cask #2615e (Lady of the Glen)

An 8 year old single cask Ardmore released by Lady of the Glen in 2018, distilled in 2009 and bottled at 59.3% natural strength after a combination of ex Bourbon maturation and a Pedro Ximenez finish. Lady of the Glen is the single cask single malt programme from Hannah Whisky Merchants, run by Gregor Hannah from Scotland with a focus on tight cask selection and natural strength bottling. Cask #2615e sits in the 2009 numbering cluster running from approximately #2594 to #2618 that is traceable across multiple European bottlers. The very small 58 bottle outturn suggests this was a Pedro Ximenez finishing cask drawn from a partial selection. Bottled for the German market.

Filled at 63.5% into ex Bourbon refill American oak in 2009, the spirit matured at Kennethmont under the post 2001 steam heating regime before transfer into a Pedro Ximenez seasoned cask for the latter stages. Eight years brought the strength to 59.3%, with no chill filtration applied at bottling.

Pedro Ximenez at this maturity drives concentrated residual sugars, dried fig and raisin character from the dried grape sherry style. Furfural from the oxidative wood reads as walnut alongside the syrupy sweet base. 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 sweet smoky finish balances rich sherry sweetness with inland peat structure.