Ardlair 2011/2023 Signatory Vintage 11 years old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 62,5%

Ardlair is not a distillery. It is a name Ardmore uses when the smoke stays at home, the unpeated half of the house, named after a stone circle out in the surrounding landscape. Here it has spent eleven years in a sherry cask at 62.5%.

The Expert's Description

Ardlair 2011/2023 Signatory Vintage 11 Years Old is a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a refill Oloroso Sherry Butt and bottled at 62.5% cask strength. Cask 900032 was distilled on 27 January 2011 and bottled on 11 January 2023 in Signatory's Cask Strength Collection, giving 597 bottles.

Ardmore is one of the few Highland distilleries with peat smoke as a core style, and Ardlair is the name given to the unpeated production. Without the smoke the spirit’s own fruitiness and malt sweetness step forward more clearly, which makes the whisky far more receptive to a sherry cask.

That the cask is refill rather than first fill matters here. A refill Oloroso Butt gives up less colour and less tannin, so the sherry settles as a layer on top instead of taking over. The whisky is bottled without filtration and without added colour.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Raisins and figs first, with roasted nuts and honey behind. There is dried ginger and spice in it, and beneath the sherry sits a bright apple fruitiness that tells you the spirit is unpeated.

Palate

Dark chocolate and walnut open, followed by sweet sherry and spiced oak. The vanilla arrives late. At 62.5% the concentration is considerable, and the whisky takes water well, turning rounder rather than thinner.

Finish

Long and warming with persistent sherry sweetness and elegant oak tannins that let go slowly.

Specifications

Name: Ardlair 2011/2023 Signatory Vintage 11 Years Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 62.5%
Distillery: Ardmore
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 11 years
ABV: 62.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Refill Oloroso Sherry Butt, cask no. 900032
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 27 January 2011
Bottled: 11 January 2023
Number of bottles: 597
Edition: Cask Strength Collection
EAN no.: 5021944121526

Flavour Profile

Sherry Matured · Nutty · Spiced · Fruity · Cask Strength · Honeyed

Did You Know?

Ardlair is named after a stone circle near the distillery. Ardmore itself was built in 1898 by Adam Teacher to secure malt for the family blend, Teacher's Highland Cream, and the house has made peated whisky ever since. Ardlair is the exception, the half that never sees peat.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Ardlair 2011/2023 Signatory Vintage 11 Years Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 62.5%

What is the difference between Ardlair and Ardmore?

They are the same distillery. Ardmore makes both peated and unpeated malt whisky, and the unpeated make is given the name Ardlair. If you see Ardlair on a label, you know there is no smoke in the bottle.

Why use a refill sherry cask rather than a first fill?

Because a first fill Oloroso Butt would have drowned the spirit over eleven years. A refill cask gives less colour and less tannin and lets the spirit’s own fruitiness come through. It is a choice about balance rather than force.

What is Signatory's Cask Strength Collection?

Signatory Vintage’s range for single casks bottled without dilution and without filtration. The cask number and the distillation and bottling dates appear on the label, so the cask’s history can be followed precisely.

Is 62.5% too strong to drink?

No, but it calls for a method. Taste a small measure neat first, then add water one drop at a time. At this strength the alcohol often shuts the aromas down, and a little water can open both the fruit and the sherry noticeably.

What does unpeated Highland whisky taste like?

Typically malty, fruity and honeyed, where Ardmore’s peated releases carry a dry earthy floor. Without the smoke, the sherry cask gets far more room. See our full range of Highland Whisky.

How rare is an Ardlair bottling?

Quite rare. Ardmore does not release Ardlair as an official bottle, so the name turns up almost exclusively with independent bottlers, and only when they have secured one of the unpeated casks.