Origin: Highlands (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 56%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon first fill
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Adelphi Distillery Ltd.
Average price: € 120.00
Official website: www.adelphidistillery.com
The year 2024 marks the tenth anniversary of Whisky Club Italia, the largest Italian association dedicated to whisky and spirits in general, which in these ten years has reached the remarkable threshold of 28,000 members, thanks also to all the initiatives organised by the Club. Webinars, face-to-face and online learning courses, the Daily Dram with daily news and in-depth analysis, and the Whisky Weeks spread throughout the country: the Club’s initiatives are numerous and have grown over the years, giving life and substance to an association whose aim is to spread the culture of good drinking.
There are three levels of membership with different benefits, the highest being that of Connoisseur, which includes the annual bottling made exclusively for the Club.
In 2024, it was the turn of a single cask from Ardnamurchan, one of the most interesting realities in contemporary Scotch whisky, in an unusually unpeated guise and with a special feature: the cask was filled on the very day the Club was founded, Saturday 8 November 2014.
Nearly ten years in an American ex-bourbon first-fill cask, resulting in 252 cask strength bottles.
Tasting Notes
Lots of fruit on the nose, in yellow and tropical tones: nectarine, apricot, Fuji apple, pineapple, papaya, mango. Fruit is also used in the pastry, with tartlets and lemon curd, accompanied by a background of marzipan, almond candy, heather honey and a hint of toffee. There is also a vegetal side to this rich profile, of hay and wet grass, and I also add a hint of minerality. The alcohol content disappears in the harmonies of the aromas, which are perfectly integrated. A waxy note in the length.
The palate opens with spices, lively but not overpowering, of white pepper, aniseed, ginger and a hint of cinnamon, reinforced by a tail of liquorice root and fennel seeds. The fruity part starts off a little quietly, but as it goes on it becomes more pronounced, with pineapple and peach leading the way, but in general the sweet aspects are less pronounced in favour of the more vegetal and earthy ones, with black tea, cinchona and fennel coming through most strongly. Intense mineral veins, with hints of wet stone. The two souls continue to chase around without ever dominating but rather enriching each other.
The finish is quite long and salty notes of liquorice root, aniseed, fruit, mineral and vegetable notes.
I admit to a personal preference for the distillery’s peated profile, but the character of Ardnamurchan is all here, in its rich fullness of clean, elegant nuances, confirming itself as a whisky that gives more and more satisfaction over time.
Vote: 88/100