Abbey Whisky Exclusive, Peated Sherry butt | 52.6% ABV

When we stop even trying to justify the cost

I moved from London to the USA in 2003.

At that time, I drank and enjoyed single malt scotch and always had a few bottles on the shelf, but it wasn’t my primary alcoholic drink of choice. That was red wine.

Generally, full bodied, meaty French, Italian and Spanish reds - occasionally supplemented by something from South Africa, Australia or South America.

It's ironic that it was only after leaving the UK – with its ready availability of an endless selection of bottlings and significantly more acceptable pricing – that I really started to develop a deeper interest in what scotch could be. And now, I am a fully paid-up whisky nerd.

There are “too many” bottles on my shelves (both open and otherwise). I’m a member of multiple whisky clubs and societies, I attend and host tastings, travel to whisky festivals and even write about the stuff. I’m sure you’ll agree, these are sure signs of hardcore nerdery.

And – as I live outside of the UK – I’m also a part of that subgroup of whisky obsessives that have accepted that the only way to get some whiskies is to have them shipped internationally, enduring all the costs and complexities that involves.

Whether buying from our preferred retailers or from the plethora of online auctions, we have resigned ourselves to the added costs of shipping, insurance, exchange rates and – thanks to he-who-shall-not-be-named – we now have an array of tariffs to pay as well (because of course, it’s the consumer who gets stuck with them every time and they’re now an added cost at the port of entry).

When you stop to think about it, this particular form of obsession is rather unusual. Strange even. After all, what else does the average person go to all this trouble for? What other consumable do we chase down on auctions or obtain through specialist retailers?

Mostly, we make do with what is available to us in our home markets, however wide or limited the range may be. To pay for international shipping and insurance, to put up with the occasional breakage and the perennial risk of what we’ve bought actually not being that great, is pretty bizarre behaviour.

Yet here we are. A merry and globally distributed community of whisky obsessives who have normalised the abnormal in pursuit of our favourite whiskies, rare bottlings, hard-to-find unicorns that we couldn’t snag first time around or new and sometimes exclusive releases of single cask bottlings that will likely be gone in a flash should we not act immediately.

We’re like meerkats. Ever alert and scouring the horizon for the next must-have whisky. Eyes darting, noses twitching.

And when the word goes out that another exclusive bottling from our favourite distillery has hit the online store, or been spotted at auction, we swoop. Chasing with an intensity honed by the knowledge that we live in the deprived hinterlands of the whiskyverse, where our options are limited unless we want to venture into the worlds of locally produced liquid (which in many cases is perfectly good, it’s just not our favourite scotch).

And so it is with the whisky; the subject of today’s review. An Ardnalert went up. We heard that Abbey Whisky had an exclusive bottling from North Star Spirits of a 6 year old Ardnamurchan that had been matured in a peated sherry butt - and there were only 60 bottles up for grabs.

So we grabbed.

I say we. One of us in New York, the other in Melbourne. We’re both chipping in on this one - as is the Dramface way.

Was it worth it? Worth the extra cost and hassle?

Read on fellow Dramfacers, and find out.

Review 1/2 - Nick

Ardnamurchan 6yo, North Star Spirits – Abbey Whisky Exclusive, 60 bottles only, peated Sherry butt maturation, 52.6% ABV
£85 paid, still some availability at time of writing

“How do you like your Ardnamurchan?”

“In my mouth.”

I’ve tried a wonderfully diverse array of Ardnamurchans over the last few years. Peated and unpeated, a mix of the two, bourbon cask, sherry cask and all manner of other cask finishes like Mezcal, Sauternes and Madeira, the Paul Launois Champagne cask series, Golden Promise Barley bottlings and the rest. While they all land differently and there are varying degrees to which I’ve been excited by them, there’s never been one that I didn’t want to last longer. Which is a pretty good test of a whisky.

So yes, you can call me an Ardnamurchan fanboy if you like, in much the same way you could call me – and countless others – a Springbank fanboy. It’s definitely become one of my desert island distilleries.

Which is why I happily endure the cost of having it shipped across the pond to enjoy it and to share it with friends who are similarly inclined to get their mouths around Ardnamurchan’s distillate.

This is actually the first bottle from North Star Spirits to enter my collection, which feels like something of an oversight somehow. Perhaps after getting into this bottle, I’ll be perusing their wares more closely in future.

One perk with this release is that you get the bonus of a dinky little 3cl sample with each bottle ordered. It was a nice way to get into the whisky before opening the full bottle.

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*A big, ballsy, barrel-chested brute of a whisky*

Nose

This smells the way it looks – very brown and very lush. So much going on.

Early in the glass everything is gloriously resinous. Lots of creosote, wood stain and salty, beefy gravy.

There’s a light but definite smokiness on the nose – like damp vegetation being burned in the distance – and it’s folded in with a bunch of stewed dark dark fruits.

After a while, the sweetness comes to the fore along with some clove, dark brown sugar and raisin. Classic sherry notes with the smoke lingering in the background. And cola cubes.

Right now, I really want to climb into the glass and wallow in the stuff for an hour or so.

Palate

Undiluted, this is sweet, smokey and oaky at the outset. The wood is a bit of a surprise as I didn’t pick that up on the nose at all. And it’s kind of intriguing (maybe because I wasn’t expecting it).

The influence of the peated sherry butt is clearly present. There’s a smokey earthiness that is intertwined with the expected sherry cask notes as it slides exquisitely into the realm of the grubby, chewy, gnarly kind of flavour profile I love. It’s not extreme, but it's oozing that kind of character. There’s a touch of sulphur here too. And that’s good.

The dark fruits are still there (and still stewed), along with the clove and dark sugar, but now there is crystalized ginger, white pepper, a bit of nutmeg and prunes.

I’ve never eaten a smoked Christmas Pudding, but I think I may be drinking one as I write this.

There’s a wonderful warmth that comes through on the longish finish and the tannic, woody notes linger with the smoke as the sweet notes slowly fade, leaving the more savoury side of this dram to round things out.

Adding a couple of drops of water takes some of the edge off of things, but doesn’t massively change the flavour profile. And if anything, it brings out the oaky notes on the finish a little more.

The Dregs

This is a big, ballsy, barrel-chested brute of a whisky.

The label confidently declares that this is a banger! And I’m not about to argue. If you like the combination of peat and sherry then this is likely something you’ll enjoy.

The oaky and tannic notes are the third element that makes this a distinctive dram, as they add another layer that mingles with the peat- and sherry-derived flavours.

At only six years old – and being one of the darkest whiskies I’ve ever seen - I have to assume that the sherry butt this lived in for that time must have been a first fill, maybe European oak (which generally gives more colour) and quite possibly a wet cask as well. Or at least some of those things.

This is an astonishingly dark whisky and the cask has clearly played a major role in creating the final product.

Which raises the question of how much of the flavour and the character of this dram comes from the cask, and how much is innately Ardnamurchan?

Based on my experience of Ardnamurchan (peated, unpeated, sherried and various other finishes and both official bottlings and independents), I’d have to say, this is very much a cask-driven bottle.

In some respects, this makes me think of sherried expressions of younger Kilkerran – especially the heavily peated stuff.

That said, while it may not be what one might expect from an Ardnamurchan, this is both a really luscious pour with oodles of character and also a good example of just how the distillery spirit can play with more active casks. It stands up well and results in a whisky worth chasing.

Score: 7/10 NF

Review 2/2 - Calder

Ardnamurchan 6yo, North Star Spirits – Abbey Whisky Exclusive, 60 bottles only, peated Sherry butt maturation, 52.6% ABV
£85 paid, still some availability at time of writing

Youth in whisky can be a disappointment.

No, I’m not doing my boomer impersonation, but as a simple rule in the Drammerverse; (Solid distillate + cask influence) x Time = great whisky.

This is a drastic oversimplification, and my Dramface countryman Tyree would have a lot to say to that, but to the lay whisky drinker this is a basic Year 7 maths equation to work out superficial quality for a whisky.

Making good distillate is supposedly foundational; you cannot polish a turd, so to speak. A swathe of whisky in the 21st century has focused on cask type, cask modification, size and all sorts to amplify flavour with the intention of quality in lieu of a distillate focus. A recent Colonials podcast recording had Gus talking about a trend of old Cadenheads bottlings which employed the use of more “tired” casks, therein focusing more on raw distillate profile perhaps guided by the aid of time. This last factor of time is what most companies have the least control with; time can be understood but you cannot bargain with it.

Newer, modern distilleries have dealt with the trouble of time differently. Cotswolds Distillery started by establishing an award-winning gin product, whereas Ardnamurchan used their Adelphi brand as an independent bottler; gathering information and reception on cask selection, distillery profiles, market changes and habits, all while developing respect from the craft whisky fandom.

It is no secret that Ardnamurchan is well enjoyed among the Dramface crew, it is a distillate well covered by the experienced, so there is nothing this Ardna-noob will be able to reveal to you. The exciting prospect of covering a bottle together with Nick (definitely an Ardna-head), as well as a decent track record from Abbey (bloody bangin’ Benromach reviewed by Doog) had me hit purchase. I generally vibe with North Star bottlings as well, they seem to do interesting things with tasty distillates that offer something different to their original bottlings without bastardising the spirit they’re starting with.

I also respect Ardnamurchan, and perhaps should be dipping into their wares more than I have done. It’s a bold embrace of modernity whilst not taking advantage through smoke and mirrors; a distinct-though-familiar profile that new and old drinkers can enjoy. Not having the luxury of time, it becomes crucial that distillate and cask selection compensate…and deliver.

Score: 8/10

**Something special.**
***TL;DR***
*Andalusia and Ardnamurchan collaborate on a banger*

Nose

A surprising hit of immediate cold smoke, not something I’m used to even with a peated Ardnamurchan. This continues with cartoon smell lines of low and slow American BBQ. Deeper in the glass we get surf and turf, very light notes of seaweed and iodine a la Laphroaig as well as earth forest floor and singed moss. The sherry starts to announce itself with Christmas cakes and freshly baked gingerbread. Using a blenders’ glass you can get menthols and eucalypt, this is a fresh, cool, herbal nose despite the sherry casking where things get quickly jammy in there. It’s an astounding nose and, in a blind, I doubt I would have picked this as Ardnamurchan.

Palate

Sweet peat! The smokiness presents as campfire logs or the end of a beach bonfire. Burnt BBQ ends and pork ribs glazed with cherry sauce; the whole low-and-slow thing is present on the nose and the palate. Repeat sips lead to slightly more medicinal peat, not as prominent as a full Froggie, but it’s there, and it feels different to usual peated Ardnamurchan.

Sweetness from the sherry brings redcurrant jelly slathered on a Christmas ham, spice and sweetness like chugging a can of Dr.Pepper. There is also some dryness and acidity of pink peppercorns and Davidson plums.

If the front of this whisky is peat, then the tail is sherry, a smack of the tongue and you get those classic sherried notes of red liquorice and spiced Christmas pud with a hidden copper coin.

The Dregs

This is up there as one of my favourite Ardnamurchan whiskies. We have the wunderkind spirit of Ardnamurchan paired with some excellent sherry cask selection (devoid of tannic and sulphur malady), and this added element of peat.

It isn’t entirely clear to me if this sherry cask held a peated spirit that was different to Ardnamurchan, if it did I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if it was something from Islay. There is a medicinal and seaweed aspect to this whisky I don’t usually see in mainland peated spirit. Chatting with Nick there could be a Kilkerran Heavy Peat-esque quality to it as well. Either way, these extreme flavours are seamlessly integrated without becoming sharp, completely blinding its youth and beating time itself.

Score: 8/10 CD

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. NF

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