Adelphi Dailuaine 2015 Cask #300973 & Adelphi Ardmore 2016 Cask #1051

Adelphi Dailuaine 2015 Cask #300973

Region: Speyside

ABV: 54.4%

Price: £69.00

Distilled in 2015 and matured for 10 years in a first-fill Pedro Ximénez sherry hogshead, this Adelphi bottling was released in 2025 with a total outturn of 290 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with classic PX sherry cask notes of toffee, orange rind, chocolate coins, cinnamon, gingerbread, and a hint of pepper spice. The sherry influence dominates here, masking most if not all of the spirit character. It’s easy to nose at this ABV, though it definitely a little one dimensional. Pleasant, but we were hoping for a touch more complexity.

Palate

The palate matches closely with the nose, with Thorntons toffee, caramelised brown sugar, and orange up front. The mid palate has more savoury elements of tobacco, fresh leather, and cloves. These notes are quickly overtaken by a wave of cinnamon spice that dominates the medium length finish. Mouthfeel is good but doesn’t quite reach the viscous level we’d hope for. 

Nose (with water)

Reduction brings out some more depth with fresh cherries and jam emerging, along with burnt brown sugar. The spice softens, and the fruit notes blend nicely with the original toffee and orange, adding some of that complexity we were hoping for.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate opens with a aggressive hit of ginger and cinnamon spice. Caramel and orange continue to carry the sweetness, but the mouthfeel has thinned slightly. The finish is still medium in length, but the spice is more prominent, and it overshadows the subtler flavours.

Conclusion

We’d have loved to combine the diluted nose with the pre dilution palate but alas, you can’t have everything.. What you do get is a big sherry bomb that showcases the usual sherry notes, but lacks the complexity and distillery character to take it to the next level. Some will undoubtedly enjoy it more than we do, but for us it falls a little short.

Score: 6.5/10

Value

Adelphi tends to sit at the more premium end of the indie bottler spectrum, so £69 is fairly reasonable—especially for a single cask, 10-year-old PX-matured Speysider at this strength. Not the best value we’ve seen, but certainly not overpriced.

Adelphi Ardmore 2016 Cask #1051

Region: Highlands

ABV: 61.1%

Price: £68.75

Distilled in 2016 and matured for 7 years in a refill oloroso sherry butt, this single cask Ardmore was bottled by Adelphi in 2024, with a total outturn of 634 bottles.

Nose

Ash, tuna brine, kelp, and iodine are most noticeable initially, with a pistachio note sitting behind these. There’s very little heat despite the ABV, just a subtle hint of black pepper. Some peat smoke and tobacco appears with patience, joined by lemon juice and a faint touch of burnt toast. It’s less farmyard-forward than we usually find Ardmore. Going back there’s also warm butter, candy floss, caramel, and something a little coastal. It doesn’t nose like a 7 year old. It appears much more refined than that.

Palate

Ash and candy floss initially on the palate. Caramel sauce emerges on the mid palate, followed by smoked newspaper and a hit of white pepper spice on the finish. As it opens tangerine, orange peel, and lemon starts to appear. The mouthfeel is a touch thin, though not enough to put us off. Again, based on the palate we wouldn’t have pegged this as a 7 year old.

Nose (with water)

Water brings out more smoke and peat, plus a raspberry and cream note. The pistachio has intensified, and now we’re getting smouldering log fire smoke and icing sugar instead of the earlier lemon. A new dry, earthy note has appeared as well. It still doesn’t scream “Ardmore,” but it’s surprisingly complex for the age.

Palate (with water)

Water brings out some raspberry ripple ice cream. There’s more smoke, peat, and ash, with reduced spice on the finish. The mouthfeel improves slightly. It’s now more coating. There’s also now some toffee ice cream and tar. Good balance between sweetness and smoke.

Conclusion

This doesn’t smell or taste like classic Ardmore, and it comes across as a few years older than its age especially with a drop of water. There are pleasant notes both neat and reduced, so it really comes down to personal preference. Although for us we’d choose to add water.

Score: 7/10

Value

Another release from Adelphi that feels cheaper than we’d usually expect.

• 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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