Ardnahoe 6yo Chairman’s Selection
Official Limited Edition | 60.2% ABV
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
A big, deeply-layered smokeshow. One for the peatheads
Coming Up for Air
I’m going to get right to the point: the last four weeks have been exhausting.
Since my last broadcast on the Dramface airwaves, work has picked up in ways that have consumed the bulk of my waking hours.
In addition to the six whiskies I wrote about last month as part of my Cut Your Wolf Loose treatise, a confessional spilled its way through the preamble regarding my work and the challenges over the past two years managing my business. For the bravest of our readers who weathered the breadth of that lengthy tale, a positive ending was their reward.
My tenacity though thick and (mostly) thin had finally led to some small success. New, stable clients. A solid foundation from which to finally grow and prosper after persevering through years of struggle. Satisfied with the work I was receiving at the time and happy to have dug out of that hole, little did I know upon sending that piece over to Wally and the editing crew what was to come.
Bigger clients came in, with a list of projects to complete that surpassed anything we’ve ever tackled before. Just looking at the tally itself was draining, let alone figuring out how to execute their demands.
In 1911, American company Morton’s created a seasoning revolution with the simple act of adding magnesium carbonate as an anti-caking agent to sodium chloride, inventing modern table salt - which could now pour freely without clumping from any container and be sold cheaply to households across the world.
Now impervious to humidity and rainy weather - where salt would formerly absorb moisture and turn solid - and no longer limited to industrial uses or as a preserving agent, modern table salt was born. Kitchens and bland chicken dinners everywhere celebrated this new invention.
Further, to promote their civilization-saving brainchild, Morton’s created one of the most famous and effective advertising campaigns of all time: The Morton Salt Girl and the phrase: “When it Rains it Pours.” A twist on a much older British proverb: “It never rains but pours.”
Well secured now within the global lexicon, this advertising phrase meant to promote clump-free salt, generally means: “when things happen, they happen all at once.”
And boy has it.
And not just a steady rain from which the Morton Salt Girl must protect herself with her trademark umbrella, but a deluge. Ol’ Noah himself would see this flood and say: “damn, best o’ luck boyo.”
I’ve never been so busy. The work is hard. It’s stressful. It’s exhausting. But it must be done.
My team is performing admirably and I’m enormously proud of them. I tell them every day. They have no idea I moonlight as a whisky ghostwriter for the Dramface factory, but just in case they stumble upon these words: thank you, I can’t do this without you.
Four weeks in and two weeks to go until our project’s completion. As Sir Winston said, “We’re at the end of the beginning.”
Speaking of whisky and writing, both have taken a back seat as we tackle this infinite pile of client work that must turn around on tight deadlines. Early mornings. Late nights. A dram here or there.
It’s an understatement that I miss the writing and routine I created for myself. Going on adventures with my camera and bottles, jotting copious notes over drams as pen and senses connect and making sense of it all through keyboard and screen. Ah. Small thrills.
Even this modest exercise loosening the creative juices has already helped center me amidst a chaotic time.
Digressing as time is short. Duty calls. So, let’s get to it.
Meeting this moment has required a big whisky and one has stood out over the past few weeks.
Review
Ardnahoe 6yo, Chairman’s Selection, sherry and bourbon cask maturation, 60.2% ABV
US$90 paid, £65 limited availability
Like Wally and most of our writers, I’m an unabashed Ardnahoe fan. With a handful of bottles in the stash, including their core range and a couple others, I no longer feel the need to chase their new releases. And as those new/special/exclusive bottlings creep up in price, especially to my little corner of the Whiskyverse, it’s been easier to take a pass.
But this one stood out.
In the marketing for this release Ardnahoe stated:
“…Created to the personal specifications of our late founder and chairman, Stewart Laing, this limited-edition release is our most heavily peated Ardnahoe release to date.”
According to the internet, Ardnahoe married their standard distillate with a specially produced heavily peated batch malted to 160 ppm, but the distillery publishes no official figures.
Even the label says “heavily peated” right there in the description. Ardnahoe is not known to pull back in the smokiness of their flavor profile, so that’s a bold claim.
I’ll admit it, they got me with that one.
I secured this through an international retailer, but I was pleased to see that since, it has now arrived stateside as Ardnahoe is imported through Spirits Select and stocked by the American big box booze emporium, Total Wine - but at a price higher than what I paid. So it goes.
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
A big, deeply-layered smokeshow. One for the peatheads
Nose
The label says “heavily peated” and means it. Right away it hits with a deep smokiness that at first comes across as cookfire and grill smoke.
Sweet St. Louis barbecued ribs. Ashy gristle. Meatloaf. A1 steak sauce and burnt ends. Texas Brisket. A delightful symphony of smoked meats, charcoal briquettes, charred logs, and savory sauciness. Lots of cracked pepper. Brothy au jus.
With time and beyond that, layered sweetness emerges alongside a briny oiliness. Earthy sea salt. Now it’s more of a campfire punchiness that keeps the intensity of this dram high. There’s a dirtiness here too - almost industrial. Honeycrisp apples. Chili peppers. Jalapenos in vinegar. Sweet, fruity jamminess also comes through like rich strawberry jam. Raspberries.
Water brings Hershey’s milk chocolate, diesel fuel, and chocolate cake. Traeger wood chips. Saltwater taffy. Samoa Girl Scout cookies. The wood smoke is cleaner here but still ashy and sooty, and there’s also apple jam, maple sausages, and McDonald’s Mcgriddle.
The high ABV doesn’t hit as hard as it might suggest and the alcohol seems well integrated, but it’s not a dram for the casual. This is a dram for the peat addicts and whisky adventurers alike. Lovely.
Palate
Man.
Just beautiful. More ashy grill smoke and seared meats, but sweeter than the nose suggests with loads of sugary candy and dessert notes layered in. Cinnamon red hots. Hot link sausages. A little rubbery like a hot dog. Dirtier. Brown sugar. More burnt ends. Cherries Jubilee. Very viscous with a coating, full mouthfeel that doesn’t betray its age, yet is still well-integrated and balanced.
Water brings LA street tacos, more candy and dessert notes, snickerdoodles and ginger snaps, chicken maple sausages, and strawberry toaster strudel.
The finish stays big and smoky – and I mean smoky. But there’s a red candy sweetness and peanut brittle alongside caramel drizzle and toffee. It’s sweet, but the finale is dry, ashy, and long.
The Dregs
I’ve had my fair share of Ardnahoe’s and this one stands out. There’s a great deal of complexity to it, even the profile of the smokiness changes over time and with each pass. At first it’s all grill smoke and barbecue and then there’s this dirty, earthy, ashiness underneath it all that’s layered well with loads of sweetness. That 60%+ stares at me as well. It’s punchy, but not nose-searing, especially with a little time and air. The marriage between bourbon and sherry casks is top-notch, the distillate shines and neither seem to overwhelm.
I shared this at a tasting before the work craziness ensued and one person did lament; they felt it was too much. Too hot, not approachable - just burnt smoke and haymakers. I could see that. Perhaps it benefits with ample time and multiple passes. I compiled my notes over several drams and was able to dig deep and really get to the nuance and layers of this expression. I think that’s the way this is best enjoyed. It’s an adventurous dram for sure.
The price might be a bit much for some. Retailing for $100 here in the states could put folks off for a 6-year whisky. But I think we’ve established by now that Ardnahoe punches far above their age statement class. I’d only share with those who I know have a tolerance for big, smoky whiskies, so it’s a bit of a novelty in that way. Personally, I loved it and it matched the mood perfectly.
Like me, it just needed to come up for some air.
Score: 8/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AD
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At the point of this article’s publication, Ardnahoe currently sits in position #14 in the Dramface Top 40.
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