Review by: The Muskox

Here’s the next whisky from the Ardnamurchan/Adelphi tasting held at the venerable Jack Rose Dining Saloon last week.

Adelphi has been on an American publicity tour for the past few weeks, bringing their fine whiskies down the east coast for people to taste and for stores to gander at. To commemorate the tour, Ardnamurchan has bottled this special release of 900 bottles. As a brand new ArdnAmerican myself, I figure it’s now my civic duty to review this whisky. That’s in addition to my moral duty and my journalistic duty.

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Distillery: Ardnamurchan.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 57.8%. Cask strength.

Age: 5 to 6 years. Distilled in 2017 and 2018. Bottled in 2023.

Cask type: Oloroso and PX sherry casks

Price: $90 USD at the tasting.

Color: Amber. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Rich, with bright and youthful sweet sherry. Cherries, citrus, lots of caramel, and saltwater taffy. Mild peat smoke and a fair bit of brine.

Palate: Thick texture. Loads of sherry cask, loads of “cask” in general. Arrives very strong and sweet, with sea salt, plums, malt, and stronger peat smoke than on the nose. The development gets peatier and woodier. Charred oak, teriyaki-glazed grilled meats, and extra-dark chocolate.

Finish: Medium-long, sweet-and-salty with lingering oak. Coffee and sherry.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Pierwalking tourists trapped in a candy shop”

Conclusion: Apologies for the slightly skimpier notes than usual, but I had loads of whisky to get through that evening… This was very good. Rich flavours, solid complexity, piles of cask influence but with peat and salt shining through. It reminds me in style of those OB Highland Park single casks – strong sherry but not totally smothering distillery character. Nice one!

Final Score: 86.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.