Adelphi Benrinnes 14yo Cask #300941 & Adelphi Glenglassaugh 10yo Cask #665

Adelphi Benrinnes 14yo Cask #300941

Region: Speyside

ABV: 54.6%

Price: £93.95

Cask #300941 was distilled in 2009, and matured in a refill sherry hogshead for 14 years before being bottled in 2023. 248 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with cherries soaked in syrup, dark chocolate, raspberry jam, white pepper and a dustiness too. We're also finding Manuka honey, butter biscuits and wholewheat crackers. The alcohol feels quite prominent on the nose, we'd have guessed it at around 58% or 59%. Giving it some time and air in the glass, we're finding slightly meatier sherry aromas, venison with red berry sauce, candied almonds and a hint of balsamic vinegar.

Palate

The palate opens up with milky chocolate, cherry compote, red currants, candied pecan nuts, strawberry laces and a little bit of ginger spice towards the latter part of the palate. The mouthfeel is nice, a good, thick texture and the finish lingers on for a fair while with more of those dark chocolate and coffee flavours appearing. The palate has a nice zing of lemon juice at the beginning, giving balance to some of those sweeter red fruit notes that come after.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose is slightly woodier and nuttier, toasted oak, cashews, but it still maintains a good amount of freshness and fruit alongside these drier aromas. The water has reduced some of the initial spice we got, but it's still a touch hot and dusty.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate mirrors the reduced nose in the drier, woodier flavours that come through, cocoa beans, chocolate covered coffee beans, maybe even an espresso martini. The mouthfeel has worsened slightly, we've lost some of that lovely viscosity that we enjoyed before. There's still sweetness here though, just less than before.

Conclusion

Lots and lots of sherry goodness coming through in this dram. It's got a good balance of sweet, sour and richness, although there's a bit too much spice in places, namely the nose. We can't really fault it too much though, it's a dram that will suit many peoples palates and works great to show off modern sherry maturation.

Score: 7.5/10

Adelphi Glenglassaugh 10yo Cask #665

Region: Highlands

ABV: 57.4%

Price: £101.00

Cask #665 was filled with peated spirit in 2012, and matured in a first fill bourbon cask for 10 years before being bottled in 2023. 226 bottles were released.

Nose

We’re met with an initial butteriness, toasted crumpets, moving into tinned peaches, sweet vanilla cream and a very light, earthy and vegetal peat smoke. There’s also a salinity here, salt water, alongside brûlée’d banana and warehouse must. A unique nose where there’s lots of aromas, but only when you search deep to find them.

Palate

The palate begins with a varnish note, cream soda, rose water and a little salted pistachio too. We’re getting real Turkish delight memories with this dram. Alongside this we’re also finding the same vegetal peat characteristics from the nose, giving the dram an earthy, dry soil-like flavour. There’s also a good amount of sweet bourbon cask on top of this, with vanilla custard and a little brown sugar too. The mouthfeel is nice, there’s some texture there, and the finish is medium length with dried oak and walnuts.

Nose (with water)

Reduction brings pencil shavings, flint, wet cardboard and moss. The peat is much more upfront, and the dram is much drier. Digging past this, we’re still able to find some stone fruits and lighter vanilla notes.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has more initial sweetness, custard filled doughnuts, but like the reduced nose, there’s also a fair bit more earthy smoke appearing. A lot of the fresher flavours seem to have disappeared, and it’s a juxtaposition between icing sugar and dry smoke now. The mouthfeel and finish remain mostly unchanged, with a little bit of honeycomb and instant coffee appearing towards the end of the dram.

Conclusion

A dram that, on the face of it, seems quite simple, but reveals a fair amount of complexity if you give it time and search for those more interesting aromas and flavours. The peat isn’t overly strong (at least before you add any water), but does give a unique backbone to the whisky. It’s lacking a bit on the mouthfeel and can seem restrained in places, so we’ll go with 7/10.

Score: 7/10

• 10 - Perfection. A whisky that we’ll remember forever.
• 9 - Amazing. We’d pay through the nose for a bottle.
• 8 - Great. Pick this up at RRP.
• 7 - Good. Happy to have a dram or two but wouldn’t buy a bottle.
• 6 - Passable. Would accept a dram, but wouldn’t seek it out.
• 5 - Poor. Would drink if it was the only option.
• 4 - Bad. Maybe it can be saved by ginger beer?
• 3 - Awful. It can't be saved by ginger beer.
• 2 - Pour it out
• 1 - We’ve never tried a whisky rated this low and hopefully never will.

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