Ardnamurchan 6 Years Old 2017 Cask 244 (Single Malts of Scotland)

Bottled by Elixir Distillers in 2024 under the Single Malts of Scotland label from single ex Bourbon cask 244, this is a 6 Years Old Ardnamurchan from 2017 distilled spirit at 63.7% ABV. Bottled at exceptionally high cask strength without dilution for Europe.

Production followed Ardnamurchan's standard regime. Concerto barley was milled into a copper topped semi lauter mash tun, fermented 72 to 120 hours on a single strain distiller's yeast, then double distilled through copper pot stills with reflux boil balls to a new make of 74 to 76% ABV. Spirit was filled at 63.5% into a single ex Bourbon American oak cask and matured on site at Glenbeg in dunnage warehousing for six years.

Ex Bourbon American oak focuses cask contribution on vanillin and the cis isomer of whisky lactone from the toasted and charred staves, with hemicellulose oak sugars driving honey and vanilla through Maillard chemistry. The cleaner American oak palette suits Ardnamurchan's lighter new make and lets fermentation derived esters carry through without sherry darkness to mask them. The 63.7% cask strength reflects very modest evaporation, retaining strength close to the original fill of 63.5% and preserving higher esters. Peated phenols (guaiacol, syringol, 4 methylguaiacol from St Fergus Highland peat at 30 to 35 ppm) from the peated portion of the split production integrate as smoke backbone.