Decadent Drinks The Teuchter Batch 3 Tomatin 18yo 2008 & Decadent Drams Ardmore 27yo 1998

Decadent Drinks The Teuchter Batch 3 Tomatin 18yo 2008

Region: Highlands

ABV: 47.2%

Price: £75.00

Distilled at Tomatin in 2008 and bottled by Decadent Drinks in 2026 after 18 years of maturation, this third batch of The Teuchter was matured in sherry wood. Batch 3 comes from the same parcel of spirit used for Batch 1, having been given an additional year in sherry wood. Bottled at natural strength, the release produced 436 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with dry roasted peanuts, Roses orange creams and toffee. Strawberry hard-boiled sweets follow, before ginger beer, Coffee Revels and Turkish delight begin to appear with a little more time in the glass. There’s a hint of alcohol spice, but it’s minimal. 

Palate

The palate opens with treacle, chocolate and lightly roasted coffee, alongside prune juice and orange juice. The alcohol is well balanced, with just a touch of spice mingling with honey and lemon juice on the finish. The mouthfeel is good and slightly syrupy, while the finish is medium in length.

Nose (with water)

Water brings the nose closer to the palate, with prune juice and toffee becoming more prominent, although there’s still a touch of nuttiness in the background. The alcohol remains well balanced but overall the nose isn’t wildly different after dilution.

Palate (with water)

The palate has held up well to dilution. There’s now a little more honey and lemon appearing on the finish. Other than that, it’s largely unchanged. The mouthfeel remains good for the ABV and the finish stays medium in length.

Conclusion

This is a solid sherried Tomatin with a nice balance of flavours and aromas. Water doesn’t really change much, but that isn’t a criticism given how well balanced it already is neat. We’d happily take a bottle.

Score: 7/10

Value

At £75 for an 18yo sherried Tomatin, this feels like pretty good value.

Decadent Drams Ardmore 27yo 1998

Region: Highlands

ABV: 52.8%

Price: £210.00

Distilled at Ardmore in 1998 and bottled by Decadent Drinks in 2026 after 27 years of maturation, this single-cask release spent approximately 23 years in refill wood before a further four years in a second-fill Pedro Ximénez sherry hogshead. The cask produced 236 bottles. 

Nose

The nose opens with seaweed, kelp and sea salt, alongside bonfire smoke sitting in the distance. Mango and apricot yoghurt add some sweetness, followed by toffee, dark chocolate and a rather unusual almost rotten vegetable note. The alcohol is well integrated.

Palate

The palate shows considerably more sherry character, with chocolate sitting alongside brine, kelp and salt water. It’s surprisingly smoky too, with plenty of ash coming through despite the age. Icing sugar and orange rind join on the mid-palate, before a hint of pepper spice appears on the medium length finish. The mouthfeel is okay, although we were hoping for a little more.

Nose (with water)

Water reduces the peat and brings out a little more alcohol spice. There’s also more citrus, but overall the nose feels more one dimensional than it did neat. We definitely prefer this without dilution.

Palate (with water)

The palate gains an orange Fruit Pastille note alongside lavender, while much of the peat has disappeared, mirroring what happened on the nose. It’s taken on a more herbaceous character, but the mouthfeel hasn’t improved and there’s a little more pepper spice on the finish.

Conclusion

There are some enjoyable things going on here, particularly the mix of coastal character, peat and sherry influence. Unfortunately, the mouthfeel doesn’t quite deliver what we were hoping for from a 27yo whisky and water takes things in the wrong direction. Ardmore isn’t one of our favourite distilleries and, while this is perfectly decent, it isn’t going to change our minds.

Score: 6.5/10

Value

£210 isn’t unreasonable for a 27yo single-cask whisky, but at this price we’d want the liquid to impress us more than it does.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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