Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 'Sherry Cask'

• Limited annual release single malt Scotch whisky produced by Ardnamurchan [ARD•na•murkan] Distillery in Glenbeg, Scotland (Western Highlands)
• Two mashes, one made from unpeated malted barley and one made from peated malted barley (30–35 ppm); mashes are fermented, distilled, and matured separately before blending
• 72–96-hour fermentation in wooden and stainless steel washbacks
• Twice distilled in copper pot stills
• Matured in a combination of ex-sherry butts and hogsheads; 10 sherry butts (500-liter Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry barrels) are filled with peated spirit; 15 sherry hogsheads (250-liter Pedro Ximénez barrels) are filled with unpeated spirit; non-age statement
• A sumptuous amalgam of stewed figs, fresh orchard fruits, hard spice, and leather framed by the vinous twang of sherry, campfire smoke, and salt spray
• No added coloring
• Non-chill filtered; 50% ABV

True to its name, the eagerly anticipated Ardnamurchan Sherry Cask edition distinguishes itself from the distillery’s other core releases by employing no bourbon barrels in the maturation process. Instead, the expression is built on the distillery’s distinctive blending of Orcadian peated distillate (Orcadian peat—peat harvested on the island of Orkney—is lighter in oil and iodine than Islay, saltier but less heather-y than Highlands) and unpeated distillate, matured exclusively in ex-sherry casks whose varying dimensions were deliberately chosen for the way they affect flavor. It’s a stunning, but unsurprising result from a rising star distillery: sherry, salt spray, campfire smoke, and vibrant young distillate, all in perfect union.