You may remember we had a wave of Ardmore 1992 releases last year (by Malts of Scotland and Daily Dram among others). Now The Whiskyman has one in its series with the 1970′s-style label.

Ardmore 20 yo 1992 ‘Peat fighting man’
(49,9%, The Whiskyman 2012, 146 btl.)

Nose: starts earthy, mineral and slightly sooty but after a while this is nicely balanced by rounder, fruity notes. Seville oranges. The longer you wait, the more it becomes (tropically) fruity, with great papaya / banana notes. Some oils, maybe even a hint of diesel. All very lovely and perfectly integrated. Mouth: very smooth with sweet smoke, peat (subtle peat, think old Ardbeg) and yellow apple. Almonds. After that, there’s clearly a hint of pink grapefruit and again some tropical hints of passion fruit and pineapple. Some coastal notes as well. Very nice. Finish: long, rather sweet again. Almonds and soft smoke.

It seems some of these Ardmores show potential to bring back some old-style Ardbeg / Brora with balanced peat and a nice fruitiness. This one’s my favourite so far, but be sure to give it enough time to unfold its complexity. Around € 85. On its way to stores.

Score: 90/100