Ardnamurchan AD/10:22 Madeira Cask Release

Bottled in October 2022, AD/10:22 is an Ardnamurchan Madeira Cask Release at 58.2% ABV without dilution. The expression was matured entirely in casks that previously held Madeira, the heat aged fortified wine of the Portuguese island, presenting a heavily Madeira influenced profile rather than a brief finish.

Both peated and unpeated production runs from the distillery's split regime feed this release. Concerto barley is milled into a copper topped semi lauter mash tun, fermented 72 to 120 hours in seven stainless steel washbacks on a single strain distiller's yeast, then double distilled through wash and spirit stills with reflux boil balls to a new make of 74 to 76% ABV. Spirit was filled at 63.5% and matured on site at Glenbeg in dunnage warehousing.

Madeira casks impart a distinctive oxidative profile through residual compounds from the estufagem or canteiro heat ageing process used to produce Madeira wine. The elevated temperatures during the fortified wine's prior life develop sotolon and furfural based Maillard products that the wood retains, carrying across as cooked dried fruit, caramelised sugar and a particular nutty register that distinguishes Madeira from sherry. Bottling at cask strength preserves the higher esters carried from long fermentation, while peated phenols (guaiacol, syringol, 4 methylguaiacol from St Fergus Highland peat at 30 to 35 ppm) from the peated portion integrate as smoke that the cooked fruit profile both contrasts and supports.