For me, Ardmore is one of those hidden champions that usually don’t get as much praise as they’d deserve. Especially when drawn from carefully selected casks and bottled in natural strength, the distillery’s medium-peated Highlands whisky has a tendency to shine extra-bright. The last bottling I had, which underlined this often-made claim of mine, is “The Iron Collar” from the super-fun Whisky of Voodoo range – courtesy of Brave New Spirits. Matured in ex-Islay casks, this small-batch Ardmore 12 Years Old takes us on an exciting and enticing pleasure ride through all the realms of smell and taste. Our journey starts, of course, with a good amount of smoke. Then we traverse fruity, chewy, sweet, and savory spheres. Ultimately, we also move into the mineral domain and make ourselves cozy there. Though “cozy” might not be the best word to use here as “The Iron Collar” fully lives up to its name, providing an edgy and punchy tasting experience that’s not for the faint-hearted. While the weight of this heavy metal malt might wear some down, those who can match its power will be greatly rewarded!
by Tobi
Eye: Sordid gold.
Nose: Where do I even start? Hell, there’s just so much going on in this 12-year-old Ardmore that has more layers than the Marquis de Sade had torture techniques! The ex-Islay cask-matured spirit offers yellow fruits, crumbly pastry, banana-flavored milk, candied ginger, salt-crusted duck, fresh wood, rain-washed stone, puffed smoke, tropical undertones … and lots more!
Palate: Great texture, considerable heaviness, full-on taste! “The Iron Collar” has a most peculiar sweetness to it as well as a subtle fruitiness, a tropical quality, a salty-ish gusto, a signature smokiness, and bit of a zesty zippiness. The 57 per cent ABV have some teeth, and they’re willing to show ’em! As the high alcohol snarls and gnaws, it brings a ton of flavor with it – making the degustation of this whisky both a somewhat challenging but also highly stimulating experience.
Finish: The finish is an absolute blast! Lasting long, it leaves us with sweet n’ waxy apples. Thick n’ chewy rice pudding. Roasted n’ toasted kernel. And grey n’ perfumed billows. Considering how good this tastes and feels, I don’t think I ever want “The Iron Collar” to loosen its grip on me again!
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- The dram
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- The label
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- In the glass
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- Promo shot (taken from BraveNewWhisky.com)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Region: Scotland
Age: 12 years
Alc. volume: 57 per cent
Cask type: ex-Islay barrels
Bottle size: 0.7 litres
Price: ~85 Euro
More info: https://www.bravenewspirits.com/ (Bottler) ; https://kirschwhisky.de/ (Importer)
*** I bought the bottle as a regular customer. ***
BarleyMania | Whisky & Whiskey 
I couldn’t agree more with you about Ardmore! The last Chorlton we had was simply superb!
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Oh, that sounds like a whisky well worth trying then! Never had a bottling by Chorlton so far, but will note down the name and give it a shot when the chance comes up! Thanks for the recommendation!
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