Ardnamurchan’s AD/Madeira Cask 2025 Release captures the distillery’s coastal essence in a bold, cask-strength expression. Initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels (60% unpeated, 40% peated) for four years, it was transferred into Madeira casks for a two-year finish. Bottled at 52% ABV, this limited release showcases a rich interplay of Madeira’s sun-kissed fruit complexity and Ardnamurchan’s signature gentle coastal peat.
Spirit was distilled in Ardnamurchan’s copper stills using local barley, 60% unpeated, 40% peated. After fermentation in a blend of oak and stainless-steel washbacks, the spirit matured in ex-American bourbon barrels from early 2018 until late 2022 then reracked into seasoned Madeira butts for two years, allowing Madeira’s concentrated tang, rancio, and candied-fruit notes to meld with the underlying Highland peat and coastal salinity. The casks were vatted just before the whisky reached its seventh birthday and bottled at 52% ABV, unchill-filtered and at natural colour.
By marrying 60/40 unpeated-to-peated spirit with Madeira’s vinous richness, the distillery creates a complex, multi-layered dram.
Pairing Suggestions: Dark chocolate truffles with sea salt, roasted pear tarte Tatin, or aged Manchego cheese and quince paste.
Tasting Note: On the nose, cocoa powder, stewed plums, sugared almonds, bread-and-butter pudding, nutmeg, sandalwood, bracken, fruit scone, and red currants. This delivers cinnamon sweets, cedar bark, salted trail mix with chocolate chips, rosemary stalks, toffee apple, pine needles, and strawberries with black pepper on the palate. A medium weight finish that’s long and slightly drying, with lingering Madeira sweetness and gentle coastal smoke.
Origin: Highlands, Scotland
Alcohol: 52.0%
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