Adelphi Glen Garioch 2011 9 Year Old Cask #2374

Whisky: Adelphi Glen Garioch 2011 9 Year Old Cask #2374

Region: Highland

ABV: 58.5%

Price: £75

Okay, up next is a refill sherry Glen Garioch bottled at 9 years old. If you’ve not heard of Adelphi we highly recommend checking their stuff out. We doubt there’s a bottler out there consistently putting out such high quality liquid.

Nose

A little muted but really pleasant to just sit with for a while. Buttery brioche, red berry sweetness, currants, overall quite jammy. The sherry isn’t overpowering in any way, in fact it balances with the spirit perfectly.

Palate

Flying saucers (the old sweets) - sweet sherbet in a drying paper casing. Tons of dried fruits dipped in sugar - raisins, sultanas, apricots. Finish is quite dry but the cake-y-vanilla lingers on the palate for a long while. You wouldn’t know this is 58.5%, it is incredibly well balanced.

Nose (with water)

Some light hay and heather comes through, still quite subdued. Some nice perfumed floral notes too accentuate the fruit aromas that were already present pre-dilution.

Palate (with water)

Milk chocolate, touch of white pepper - a bit spicier with water. Coats the mouth very well. Fresh buttercream frosting.

Conclusion

This is what sherry casks should taste like. Too many bottlers rely on heavy sherry finishes that turn the whisky one shade from black and completely overpower any spirit character. We’ve been known to enjoy those bottles too, but tasting this brings us back to why we fell in love with sherry in the first place. In one word - Outstanding. Whisky doesn’t have to be old to be good.

Score: 9/10

• 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.

Have you tried Adelphi Glen Garioch 2011 9 Year Old Cask #2374? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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