Origin: Highlands (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46.8%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Adelphi Distillery Ltd.
Average price: € 70.00
Official website: www.adelphidistillery.com
Vote: 85/100
It’s hard to keep up with the various versions of whisky produced by Adelphi’s own distillery, so much so that since the last time we had an Ardnamurchan in our hands, last March, another three editions have passed in between.
The fifth (and not last) version of 2021, whose composition remains the same as the previous ones: 65% ex-Bourbon and 35% ex-Sherry (Oloroso and PX), from peated and unpeated malt in equal proportions.
It’s really very interesting to follow the evolution of this distillate in its various incarnations throughout the year, which so far have never disappointed me, on the contrary.
Tasting notes
Citrusy and tropical on the nose, with just a touch of vegetable and smoky peat that gives it depth and a vague roughness in the background. It becomes sweeter with time, pushing on tones of honey and vanilla that make it soft and round, together with a slight acidic vein of berries and mineral touches. The youthfulness is embodied in the intense impressions of cereal that act as a link. Persuasive but not pimping.
The palate is more sour and spicy, with a pinch of white pepper and ginger that soon dissolve into an oily body that is once again fruity, where pineapple and blond orange intertwine with apple, currant and almonds with a spreaded mineral streak, especially along the length. Cereals are confirmed as the common thread, with a hint of smoke in the background, while the sweeter components of vanilla and honey become more subtle. Salinity on the finish.
And at the end of the drink we find all the components lined up to greet us on stage: salt, smoke, cereals, citrus, tropical fruit, minerality. And they call for an encore.
After tasting three different yet similar expressions of this distillery, you can sense a growing path, with a whisky that is gradually more complex and richer, and which promises truly great things as it ages more and more.