Single Cask Nation Ardnamurchan 9yo Cask #152857

Single Cask Nation Ardnamurchan 9yo Cask #152857

Region: Highlands

ABV: 59.0%

Price: £92.00 

Distilled in 2015 from peated malt and matured for nine years in a first fill ex bourbon barrel, this Ardnamurchan was bottled in 2025 at natural cask strength for Single Cask Nation. Outturn 207 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with Robinsons fruit cordial, lemonade, chocolate, honey and light peat smoke. The alcohol spice is well integrated given the ABV of the dram. With time we find strawberries and cream, lemon sherbet and a hint of burnt newspaper all starting to appear. Enjoyable, but the nose feels more cask forward than spirit.

Palate

The palate opens with caramel, candy floss, and strawberry syrup, moving into raspberry ripple ice cream and custard cream biscuits on the mid-palate. A warming cinnamon spice builds and joins the sweeter notes on a medium length finish. The mouthfeel is good, though we find it slightly mouth drying as we sip. A little dark chocolate bitterness appears on returning to it, but it is not off-putting.

Nose (with water)

Water hasn’t done a huge amount to change the nose. We’re finding some of the fruity notes have dimmed slightly with the smoke and citrus notes taking more of a front seat. The alcohol spice is still minimal. We’d like to say we’d been able to guess this was Ardnamurchan in a blind tasting, but honestly we’re not sure.

Palate (with water)

Like the nose the palate is very similar to the pre diluted version. Some of that dark chocolate bitterness has disappeared, and we’re getting a touch more peat. The mouthfeel is still good, and has become a touch syrupy. The finish remains unchanged. As we sit with it a little fudge appears, but that’s it.

Conclusion

Not a lot here screams Ardnamurchan to us. It feels more cask-forward on both nose and palate, which is not necessarily a bad thing. There is a nice blend of sweetness and peat here. That said, Ardnamurchan superfans might be a touch disappointed. As fans of good whisky, we quite enjoy this.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

Whether you think it’s expensive or not, single cask Ardnamurchan releases all sit around £90, and this does nothing to buck that trend.

• 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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