An interesting, smokey-sweet 13 year old Ardmore from Thompson Bros here.

They’ve blended an Ardmore cask from 2009 with an Ardlair cask from 2010. So its a blend? No!!!! Ardmore and Ardlair are two names for whisky that come from the Ardmore Distillery; they just use the “Ardlair” moniker to mark an unpeated departure from their classic smokey highland style. Unpeated Ardmore is usually reserved for blending purposes but is often allowed to shine in the hands of Independent bottlers.

On the nose, lemon zest, brown sugar, pine needles and fresh rhubarb, strawberry jam, white pepper with tiny wafts of smoke and raisins in the mixture. The palate reveals a delightful tropical fruits and pepper. Oily texture with passion fruit and pineapple mixture. BBQ meats, honey-cured bacon. Medium to long finish, ginger spice and tobacco with a hint of peat smoke and dry white wine.

This remarkable bottle had been aged for 13 years and discharged from Ardmore and Ardlair refill barrel. Bottled by Thompson Brothers. Only 588 bottles were produced.