Adelphi is known for being an independent bottler. If I’m being honest, I like their stuff, but lordy it’s like pulling teeth trying to figure out the stats on their bottles.
Are they sleek and look great on a shelf? Yes, not in an “amazing glass bottle” way but in that minimalistic cool “let’s show off the whisky” way. Would I be happier with more information on the bottle? You bet your ass.
But we’re not here to rant about my need for information that ultimately I don’t read until I try the whisky. No, we’re here to talk about Adelphi Private Stock Blended Whisky. It’s a blend of whisky that comes from a solera system. What whisky goes in? What grains versus malts go in? What casks are used?
First time having an Adelphi, eh?
So the guess is that this is made up of Islay, Campbeltown, and Speyside. So we have that, but it’s from Master of Malt, and I don’t have anything to say that for certain.
More importantly, how does this taste? Let’s see, shall we?
Price: £22.33
Region: Blend
Abv: 40%
Colour: 2.5Y 8/8
Nose: Grass, canola oil, orange, lemon
Simple. Grassy, has some neutral oily nose to it that makes me think of canola. Some citrus. Nothing’s getting crazy here.
Taste: Mango, sugar syrup, banana, basil
Sweet, sweet, herbal sweet, tropical sweet. Some sweet and sweet. Like herbal sweet or fruit sweet? We got sweet.
Finish: Char, molasses, almond, woody, grain
The finish is where I think people there’s Islay. It’s also where I’m pretty sure more grain came in here than any blend should ever have.
That said… almond is nice.
Conclusion: Young, bit brash, got better at the end, but still rough. I get it: This is an inexpensive blend. It does that well. You go out, buy this instead of more regular Johnnie Walker Red, same price, tastes better, still isn’t great.
Perhaps that’s just me though. I prefer to drink less and enjoy higher-end stuff. If you’re not like me and therefore not a snobby snob, this would be the cheap whisky you keep around and mix with water, ice, coke, whatever. It gets pretty sweet though that’ll work.
68/100
Scotch review #1196, Blend review #100, Whisky Network review #1842
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