So the other day I cracked open one of my advent calendars from Cask Explorers and was immediately reminded of how much I enjoyed that entire journey. Today I’m following that up, but doing something a little different. Instead of going for the second dram in the box, I’m popping open the first dram from a higher-level edition, stepping it up a notch! I reach in and take out a 30ml bottle of a single cask bottling from Old Particular range of Ardmore 18-year-old single malt. How exciting! I don’t think I’ve had this one! Now comes an even more challenging task: what do I compare it against? I’m looking for a gently-peated single malt, somewhere around the same age, and not overly sherried. I spend about 20 minutes agonizing over the right contender [okay, more than that!], moving from Deanston to Highland Park to Bowmore, and finally landing on a bottle of Laphroaig. Let’s see how these compare! Now playing: Black Sabbath – Paranoid.

One fun thing I remember about Ardmore is that they’re owned by Beam Suntory, which, incidentally, also owns Laphroaig and Bowmore (among a few others), which, incidentally, is how Ardmore sometimes gets their peated malt. In fact, sometimes it’s not even the malt that is peated, but the used barrels which have previously held Laphroaig, imparting all that smokey flavour on the new contents. In this case, the Ardmore was aged in a refill hogshead for all of its 18 years, and, I don’t think there is a real way to know if these casks have previously held Laphroaig or not. Because of this, I choose to pair it next to the same-range bottling from Douglas Laing against a 15-year-old Laphroaig [and, okay, I will admit, there’s an 18-year-old Bowmore in another glass, just hanging out], to see if I can pick up on the similarities in peat. Because both single malts are in the Old Particular range of this independent bottler, they are integrity bottlings with no added colour and no chill filtration. Curiously, they’re both at 48.4% ABV. The colour is slightly lighter on the Ardmore, and on the nose, I do not pick up any Laphroaig, instead, it’s more of Caol Ila fruity flavouring. This is surprising, especially from a Highland single malt – another reminder that not all peaty whiskies originate in Islay. And just for reference, I’ll say, that after having sipped the Bowmore [on the side] to set the stage, I’m pretty sure that it is not in the same ballpark as what I am about to taste. OK, let’s try these!

The Ardmore comes in nice and fresh, a little sharp, and sweeter than what I’m used to from my Caol Ilas. The smoke on here is definitely the Islay peat and it is sooty, with an aftertaste of a smoked cigar. There is no sherry in this single cask (#15228), which was filled in 2003 and bottled in 2021. The output from Ardmore has been mostly used in Teacher’s Highland Cream (a strange name, if you ask me, but a good blended whisky) of which it still remains a principal component. Laphroaig is thicker, mellower, and smoother on the palate – surprising me a bit here, I must say because it’s also bottled at the same ABV but is a little younger by three years. And what a finish! It goes on and on and on and on! This particular bottle was charged from a refill hogshead (#13452), distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2019. The peat on here is definitely that of Laphroaig that I am used to, but it is gentler, milder, and more divine. I take a sip of San Pellegrino to cleanse my palate, and there’s that medicinal [delicious!] aftertaste from the Laphroaig. Let’s try the Ardmore once again. It definitely has a bite, which I expect from younger whiskies, but at this age and ABV, it seems a little out of place. I get that not all 18-year-olds are smooth, but maybe this one needs to breathe or open up – let’s add a drop of water and come back. Laphroaig comes back again, reminding me of all its force [and now that Bowmore feels so tame – so timid with its sweetened fruit]. With water now, the nose on Ardmore is still like Caol Ila, but now it’s softer on the palate, sweeter still, with honeyed fruit. The bourbon shines in all that oak, but then the finish fades away. Laphroaig returns with dirty peat, and it is even darker now, with sweetness followed by that smoke, then sweetness and then smoke again, which lingers on for many minutes.

So there you have it folks, another striking tasting. It was interesting to see how they compare at the same ABV from the same bottler in the same range, but I must admit, I may have selected the wrong companion here – perhaps it would have been a better choice to go with Caol Ila after all [I have a 12-year-old from Old Particular as well]. Nevertheless, this was a nice and welcoming surprise! I’ve had an Ardmore once before, but it was not like this – it was indeed a bit more influenced by the Laphroaig. And while I’m truly impressed with the very first dram from this advent calendar [what’s next?], for me, I must select Laphroaig here as a winner, albeit Ardmore really makes me want to try it once again. Speaking of which, these two run at over £120 each. I give this a rough estimate because these bottlings are probably sold out now, so you will have to track them on the secondary market.

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p.s. Throughout the day and the next, I just couldn’t stop thinking about this Ardmore and how good that re-introduction to the single malt was. And what an opener from the calendar! As I said earlier, I’m pretty sure I’ve tasted it before, but I couldn’t remember being so impressed. Even if it didn’t stand up to this Laphroaig here, it was still absolutely stunning. Later on, I ended up tasting a 14-year-old Ardmore bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company (at my whisky club), and then I finally purchased a 17-year-old from 2003, bottled by The Vintage Malt Whisky Co, for The Cooper’s Choice series. I cracked it open right away, and have not been disappointed since then! I’ve got a feeling that this calendar will set me back a grand or two.