30 – The Whisky Agency Blended Malt XO for Three Rivers Sherry Wood 45.8%
Nose: Nuts, almonds, old whisky, apricots, hand cream, cold butter, flapjacks
Palate: Dried peaches, dried apricots, cream, green vines, salt
Finish: Tobacco, cream, pepper
***
31 – Adelphi “The Brisbane” 57.5% (Starward, Glen Garioch)
Nose: Caramel, salt, vines, soy sauce, maple syrup, melted butter, lebkuchen
Palate: Prunes, caramel, cream, hot melted butter, green vines
Finish: Butter, vines
****
Perhaps the best tasting I’ve been to ever. Finished it off with something different with the Jack Wiebers’ Classic of Islay.
106 – Glenrothes Single Cask Australian Exclusive Single Cask #5579 OB 2003 13yo 56.6%
Butter, aspirin, plastic, quince jelly, egg pudding. Soy sauce, chocolate, black beans, orange zest, mandarin, cream, cocoa powder, sarsaparilla, red apple skins.
107 – Eld Vatten Single Cask Glenrothes 2006 10yo 57.3%
Honey, aspirin, lavender, sight matchhead, banana caramel pie, bacon fat, burnt butter, pine needles, butter, verjuice, pound cake. Honey, salt, heather, thyme flowers, sulfur, rubber, melted butter.
108 – North Star Single Cask Glenrothes 1996 20yo 54.6%
Wood glue, marzipan, toasted coconut, apricot delight, kiwi fruit, pavlova, dry ginger. Banana, stone fruit, passionfruit vine, cream, wine, toasted macadamia, glacé ginger, brown butter, potato skin.
109 – The Maltman Glenrothes Single Cask #7476 1989 27yo 46%
Sulfur, gun powder, apple snow, pouch tobacco, stewed apricot. Red apple skins, flinty, leather, stewed apricots, white pepper.
2017.84 – The Whisky Agency Glenrothes 1997 for The Elysian Whisky Bar & 5 Other Bars 1997 19yo 51.8%
2014.102 – Adelphi Glenrothes Australian Exclusive 2007 7yo 67.6%
110 – Classics of Islay Vintage Malt Whisky Co, Jack Wiebers Whisky World Cask 7118
Butterscotch, kelp, moss, butter, glue, flinty, smoke. Strawberries, seaweed, smoke, flint, seaweed butter on fresh bread, metho (but not in a bad way).
I was very lucky to be invited to a very special tasting for Adelphi’s new Ardnamurchan bottling. While it isn’t ready, it was nice to try the bottle. I didn’t buy a bottle, there wasn’t enough there for me. The 1998 Glen Garioch was pretty damn good. The Inchgower wasn’t on tasting but thought I should get in a dram before it goes – only 56 bottles.
87 – Adelphi Archives Inchgower 26 Years Cask 14155
Licorice, blackcurrants, chocolate, molasses, prunes, shaving cream, orange zest, dried apricots, warm eggs pudding. Soy sauce, beef broth, tea tannins, dry bones, chocolate and raisins, bitter almonds.
88 – Adelphi Ardnamurchan Spirit 2016/AD American Oak Sherry butt
Stewed apple, green banana leaf, plastic, cloves, lovely fruit cake, pine resin. Pepper, pineapple, cream, dry and boney, cigarette ash.
89 – Adelphi Glenborrodale Batch 3
Rubber, green herbs, pepper, sugar water, white pepper, honey. Wild oregano, cream, weak, slight honey, salty cream.
90 – Adelphi Glen Garioch 1998 Sherry Cask 57.5%
Brown sugar, musk, maple, toasted hazelnuts, slight sulfur, hair spray, apricots. Watermelon, hazelnut, mint, slight sugar, green herbs, chocolate, brandy snaps, kirsch.
91 – Adelphi Ardnamurchan Peated Sample ex-Woodford Reserve barrel 22 months
Bananas, cucumber, caramel, marshmallow, musk, stone fruit. Coffee grounds, cigarette tobacco, fruit tingles, banana and tomato water.
52 – The Whisky Agency Casa De Vinos Ben Nevis 17 Years 2016
Honey, salted butter, golden syrup, kiwifruit, pear nectar. Chocolate mousse, orange segments, salt, green herbs, grilled pineapple, vanilla pudding, green grass.
53 – Glen Garioch for Shinanoya Ginza 21st Anniversary Bourbon Barrel 657 15 Years
Egg nog, flat Coke, vanilla, pine, hazelnuts, rose petals. Musk, white pepper, sarsaparilla, crushed ants, vanilla, slight sulphur.
54 – Adelphi Longmorn 28 Years 1985
Slight motor oil, grilled pineapple, green tomatoes, black jellybeans. Malty bread with butter, green herbs, grilled pineapple, salt.
55 – The Exclusive Grains Port Dundas 1991 25 years Cask 50412
Salami, honey, lemon zest, roasted quails with salt and pepper sauce, soy sauce. Tropical fruit, oily fish, green garlic shoots.
56 – Distilleries Collection Miltonduff 17 Years 1996
Glue, honey, salty butter, caramel, dried peaches and pears. Dry cake mix, vanishes away to nothing, caramel and bitter herbs.
57 – Glendronach 2003 for Sansibar Cask 4630 PX Cask
Dried apricots, pancakes with butter, glacé lemon, orange syrup, cocoa, pencil shavings. Stewed apricots, Xmas spice, dark chocolate, sultanas, vanilla, orange blossom water, sarsaparilla and malt.
97 – Wilson & Morgan Ben Nevis 18 Year Old 1996
Huge rich honey nose, melted butter, rose petals, stewed apricots. Roasted bone marrow, fruit sweetness, some young sprightly herbs, citrus zest and pith, dusty.
98 – Adelphi Glenrothes 9 Year Old Cask 3532
Deep wood, leather, caramel, heavily perfumed. So big, dry wood, maple sugar, musk, buttery, apricot brandy, pancakes, sarsaparilla, plastics.
99 – Cragganmore Special Edition 14 years Bottle 0075
Grapes, turps, candle wax, apple, colored pencils, brown sugar. Pencil shavings, slight apricot and cream, wax.
57 – Laddie Classic Batch 16/004
Chicos, green herbs, wood, rubbery, toasted almonds, roses. Caramel, sea salt, leather, custard
58 – Micro Provenance 12YO Sherry Hogshead
Bitter cocoa, hand cream, slight clove cigarette, brown sugar, huge sherry, Chinese herbs. Rubber, dry white wine, brown sugar, rum, sarsaparilla. Lovely.
59 – Port Charlotte Scottish Barley
Fake Parmesan cheese, plastic, iodine, seaweed, boiled sweets, lemon zest. Salty, dry herbs, slight bacon.
60 – Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2008
Glue, new make, tequila, ozone, plastic. Sugary, herby, tobacco smoke, BBQ meats.
61 – Octomore 7.1 Scottish Barley
Butterscotch, caramel, salty sea. Sea weed, iodine, slight smoked meat, dry herbs and salty.
62 – Octomore 7.4 Virgin Oak
Hospital, iodine and clove, strawberry cheese cake. Dry cake spices, clove cigarette. Great!
63 – Arran Private Cask Milano Whisky Festival 2014 6 year sherry Hogshead
Crushed ants, dusty, salt, butter, grilled peaches. Butter, toasted, sarsaparilla, custard, peaches, woody and perfumed. Definitely in my top 5 for the year.
64 – Adelphi Glenrothes 9 Years
Chicos, dusty, wood glue, cloves, pound cake, prunes, plums, tea. Caramel, custard, cloves, spiced biscuits, white pepper and cream.
33 – Adelphi’s Liddesdale Islay 21 Years Batch 8 (Bunnahabhain)
Gassy, chocolate truffles, peaches, apricots, honey, cocoa. Really easy on the palate, intense stewed stone fruit, geranium, vanilla, milk chocolate.
34 – Ben Nevis Port Pipe 10 Years 2002
Glue, dust, honey, melted butter, apricots, intense passionfruit, creme caramel, pancakes and maple syrup, toasted marshmallow. Wood, musk, vanilla, raisiny, cocoa, honey.
Hi all – been a bit sick and busy. Haven’t been able to do as many tastings as I would have liked, unfortunately. Anyway, back at it and I had a couple of Adelphi drams.
9 – Adelphi Longmorn 23 Years
Apricot jam, almond biscotti, chicos, marshmallows, nutri-grain, strawberry and cream. Aero bars, milk, nutty, jammy stone fruit, a big mouthful of melted butter.
10 – Adelphi The Glover 14
Herbal, red dates, clove, medicinal, tobacco. Focaccia with salt and thyme, some cream and butter, slight sulfur note. I expected a lot more, given the hype. The 22 year version is very expensive and I may just skip it based on this tasting.
11 – Adelphi Glen Garioch 22
Wood polish, egg white, cucumbers, sultanas, green bananas, maple syrup and butter on pancakes. Butters, rose petals, salt, green herbs, maple syrup.
145 – Adelphi Glenborrodale 1
Textas, plums, strawberries, bacon, rubber balls. Crazy sweetness on the palate, plums, xmas fruit, nuttiness like macadamia, some peat in there.
146 – Adelphi Fascadale 9 (Ardmore 14)
Shoe leather, hand cream, white peaches, pepper, walnuts. Vanilla cream, pepper, stone fruit, ashy.
147 – Adelphi Liddesdale 9 (Bunnahabain 21)
Chocolate mousse, struck matches, salty, stone fruit. Cloves, caramlised fruit, stewed apricots.
148 – Adelphi Ben Nevis 1996 18 Years
Rope, honey, hay, plum cake, lemonade, botrytis, really floral. Crazily floral, like a botrytis, chocolate and cocoa. best dram of the tasting… I bought a bottle.
149 – Adelphi Longmorn 1992 23 Years
Maple sugar, salted butter, peanut butter, caramel pudding, dusty, mandarin and menthol. Loads of cream, pepper, golden syrup, coffee.
150 – Adelphi Ardnamurchan distillery new make
Barn yard (but not in a bad way), bog, salt, ethanol. Cucumber, chili, honey, salt.
151 – Adelphi Ardamurchan 11 Month
Banana and caramel, cloves and cola, honey. Spicy, bubble gum, cucumber, honey and salt.
152 – WhistlePig The Boss Hog Barrel:63 13 years (Not part of the tasting, obviously)
Star anise, dry ginger, bubblegum, vanilla pods, watermelon, cream, cloves, fly spray. Rubbery, hot an absolute destroyer, overwhelming crushed ants, loads of dry spice and vanilla cola.
104 – Mars Maltage “Cosmo”
Green almonds, pickled onions, tequila, gin botanicals. Thin and kinda gin like with a bit of vanilla, olive brine and salt. Not really a fan.
105 – Ichiro’s Malt Mizunara Wood Release
Initially woody, creamy and crushed ants – had time to open up and now smells quite alcoholic and resiny with like almond hazelnut biscuits and tobacco. Elegant on the pallet, feels like nothing is out of place – vanilla, wood, some tropical fruits.
106 – Adelphi Glenturret 27 Years
Underripe mango, nutty and chocolate, orange zest, zinc(?!). Huge tropical fruit hit turning to the mist of rain, with passion fruit semi freddo and nougat.
grey whisky 