Adelphi Clynelish 10yo (2015) Cask #51282 & Adelphi Glen Garioch 15yo (2011) Cask #925

Adelphi Clynelish 10yo (2015) Cask #51282

Region: Highlands

ABV: 53.7%

Price: £75.00

Distilled in 2015 and bottled in 2026 after 10 years of maturation, this Adelphi Clynelish was fully matured in a first fill bourbon barrel. Bottled with an outturn of 214 bottles. 

Nose

Initially, on the nose we’re getting custard cream biscuits, marshmallows, lemon peel and icing sugar. The alcohol gently prickles the nose, but is pretty well integrated. Going back, there’s also lime, simple syrup, dried hay and digestive biscuits.

Palate

The palate shares many of the same notes as the nose: lemon, simple syrup, custard cream biscuits and icing sugar. Peppery spice and a little chocolate appear on the medium length finish. It’s a touch hotter than we were expecting, given the ABV. The mouthfeel is good and really coats the tongue. There’s definitely a touch of wax here, but it’s drier than we were expecting.

Nose (with water)

With dilution, we find the sweeter notes have intensified. Those marshmallow and lemon notes now really pop. There’s also a dunnage warehouse note now, along with butterscotch and dried wood. The peppery spice has now faded.

Palate (with water)

With dilution, we’re reminded of Fanta and flat lemonade. The spice is now in better balance. That chocolate really pops on the finish now. The mouthfeel has held up well. It doesn’t scream Clynelish to us, but it’s still tasty. The finish remains medium in length.

Conclusion

Personally, we’d add a few drops of water. While it diminishes some of the distillery character, we feel it adds more than it detracts. We enjoyed this and would be happy to have a bottle, but we’ve seen quite a few independent Clynelish releases recently, including from Adelphi, and this feels good rather than being the best of them.

Score: 7/10

Value

You can find 10 year old Clynelish a touch cheaper than this, but it’s still a good price.

Adelphi Glen Garioch 15yo (2011) Cask #925

Region: Highlands

ABV: 68.7%

Price: £93.00

Distilled in 2011 and bottled in 2026 after 15 years of maturation, this Adelphi Glen Garioch was drawn from a first fill bourbon barrel. Outturn of 230 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with pineapple chunks, melon, papaya and a touch of peppery spice from the alcohol. The Glen Garioch DNA is clearly here, although it doesn’t initially jump out of the glass as much as some other releases we’ve tried. Going back, there’s also pine cones, milk chocolate, pistachios and caramelised pineapple.

Palate

The palate opens with lemon, chocolate limes, passion fruit, guava, piña colada without the cream, musk and pineapple. The Glen Garioch character is much more obvious on the palate. White pepper spice appears alongside some Cadbury hot chocolate on a long finish. The mouthfeel is good.

Nose (with water)

The diluted nose is largely unchanged, although the alcohol is now more noticeable and the pine cone note has become more pronounced.

Palate (with water)

Like the nose, the spice is now more pronounced on the palate, showing as Chinese five spice, although it’s not overpowering. It’s still very sweet, but it’s more caramel than tropical fruit now. The mouthfeel has held up well.

Conclusion

Personally, we’d skip adding water to this one, as it doesn’t really add anything. Like today’s other bottle, there’s been a good amount of Glen Garioch on the market recently and, while this was undeniably good, it struggles to stand out against some incredibly tough competition. Still, we’d happily take a bottle.

Score: 7/10

Value

A good price for whisky from this distillery at this age and at cask strength.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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