Adelphi Summer 2026 Outturn
Six Single Malts | Various ABV
Skint
The Dramface Deflection System has been at work again.
Our fearless leader Wally recently floated the possibility that he perhaps scores a bit higher than some of us, as he seems to often score at the higher end of the scale. But, given that he usually writes about bottles that he is passionate about – and wants the rest of us to know about – his scores will likely naturally cluster around the higher end simply because those are the bottles he often chooses to review.
I think most of us around here probably, more often than not, are doing the same. I think that I probably do: even though my reviews have dwindled down to a trickle this year for reasons I mentioned recently, I tend to review what I find interesting. I buy bottles because I’ve tried them and liked them, or because I’m taking a punt on something that is very much in my lane. I've done some research on it, and I think I’ll probably like it. I’ve not run my own numbers, but I suspect that my scoring average is probably around a 7 or so these days, as it naturally follows that I’ll likely score these bottles highly.
I’m not one to buy bottles specifically to review. Mostly because I don’t have the money, but also because that would cast a much wider net that would make choosing more complex. I’d be interested in reviewing lots of different things that I wouldn’t normally buy myself, in the hopes that at least some of the drivel I would then write about would be helpful to at least one of you out there. It would be fun to have the opportunity to write about all of the great stuff that’s out there right now, but it would also be helpful – hopefully for someone – to review something of the ocean of plain vanilla whisky that is also out there right now. And yes, it would perhaps be even more fun to write about a disastrous lifeless corpse of a whisky once in a while, too. Not too often, though.
Fortunately, none of today’s Adelphi samples fall into that latter category.
These samples were smuggled to me via the midnight rider on horseback that is the Dramface Deflection System. This, of course, is when Wally passes on to one of us something sent to Dramface for free, with no expectations or commitments to it. Which is quite handy for us, because we have absolutely nothing invested in it. I was quite happy to raise my hand for an Adelphi outturn, seeing as they’re one of the most reputable independent bottlers around. This outturn featured more releases than I’m reviewing here, but time and liver has dictated that I keep this review manageable. You might also notice that this is the July outturn, and we’re now into… nearly October.
We’re nothing if not timely here at Dramface HQ!
On we go…
Review 1/6
Glasgow Distillery 10yo, Adelphi Selection, Unpeated Virgin Oak Hogshead #845, 58.1% ABV
£85, still some availability
This unpeated Glasgow Distillery spirit was matured in a virgin oak cask.
Score: 5/10
Average. In a good way.
TL;DR
Not quite enough to convert me to virgin oak scotch
Nose
Barley dust, freshly cut wood, citrus, pineapple, coconut, banoffee pie, grassy, lightly savoury… but overall a bit restrained on the nose.
Palate
A bit brash and youthful. Sweet and slightly savoury, plums, brambles/blackberries, diluted maple syrup, wood spices, boiled fruits, medium texture; not thin exactly, but not mouth-coating either.
The Dregs
An average dram. I have to confess: I’ve never been a huge fan of virgin oak casks, and while decent, this cask isn’t converting me. Which is fair enough – not every cask is going to be a winner for everyone. But I also think that this doesn’t quite come together; a muted nose, a somewhat underwhelming palate, and a mouthfeel that’s a bit of a letdown given my previous experiences with Glasgow spirit.
If I compare this to the myriad of other Glasgow Distillery whiskies I’ve tried – which is a fair few – I’d much rather have one of the official bottlings than this, including the standard cask strength, which itself has a fair amount of virgin oak in the mix.
Score: 5/10
Review 2/6
Benrinnes 14yo, 2012, Adelphi Selection, Refill Oloroso Butt #300165, 58.3% ABV
£85, still some availability
This Benrinnes spent its fourteen years in a refill oloroso sherry butt before being bottled at 58.3%.
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
Good, but hard to spot the Benrinnes through the cask
Nose
Barley dust, freshly cut wood, citrus, pineapple, coconut, banoffee pie, grassy, lightly savoury… but overall a bit restrained on the nose.
Palate
A bit brash and youthful. Sweet and slightly savoury, plums, brambles/blackberries, diluted maple syrup, wood spices, boiled fruits, medium texture; not thin exactly, but not mouth-coating either.
The Dregs
Good sherry cask finish, but definitely cask-led. Where’s the Benrinnes? I’ve struggled to find much in the way of spirit-forward notes here, other than the most general kind of boiled fruits.
Score: 6/10
Review 3/6
Dailuaine 15yo, Adelphi Selection, Refill PX Hogshead #310226, 56.7% ABV
£88, mostly sold out
This Dailuaine spent its life in a refill PX cask.
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
A drier take on PX, worth taking time over
Nose
Aromatic yet distant red plums, faint sawdust, raisins, orange peel, nutmeg, and dry biscuits. A bit of a restrained nose, even for refill PX.
Palate
More expressive on the palate: plums, cherries, and boozy figs. Maltiness and a hint of stewed fruits behind the cask influence. Nutmeg again mixed with oak spices, bitter dark chocolate shavings, and dry coffee grounds.
The Dregs
It took a while to open up – I’m sitting here for over an hour with it – but it’s interesting now that it has. Refill PX is, of course, so very different from first-fill PX that they could often be mistaken for different casks. Despite PX being known to deliver a rich and sweet dram, this is actually one of the driest refill PX experiences I’ve tasted.
Score: 6/10
Review 4/6
Clynelish 10yo, 2015, Adelphi Selection, First-fill Bourbon, UK Exclusive #51282, 53.7% ABV
£80, mostly sold out
Clynelish in first-fill bourbon barrels… what’s not to like?
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
A great example of the current blush of availability in Clynelish
Nose
Lemon rind, American-style sugar cookies, malty perfume, and an outdoor dry-grass-in-the-sunshine quality.
Palate
Rich lemon syrup. Bright, youthful, but not sharp; malty barley sugar, and cookies again although back to something closer to UK digestive biscuits. Great mouthfeel and texture: mouth-coating, oily, and a malty velvetiness. Waxiness? I’m not sure I’m getting much in the way of that, but the mouthfeel combines with the other notes to approach something like that.
The Dregs
A very good Clynelish. There’s a lot of indie Clynelish about lately. I’ve tried several at festivals this year, including some delightful drams from James Eadie and Signatory, and while probably not better than those, this definitely sits at the same table.
Score: 7/10
Review 5/6
Glen Elgin 16yo, 2009, Adelphi UK & Europe Exclusive, Refill Oloroso hogshead, 57.1% ABV
£90, mostly sold out
Here we have Glen Elgin from a refill oloroso hogshead.
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
Sumptuous. Great stuff
Nose
Rich and sumptuous. Dark treacle/molasses, burnt brown sugar, wet barley funk, wood varnish – barley varnish if there was such a thing. A cloud of barley dust inside a sherry bodega. The normally harsher edges of 57.1% have been rounded off by 16 years in the cask.
Palate
Rich, spicy, woody maltiness. A wave of cask flavours continues from the nose – burnt brown sugar again, molasses, boozy plums, but also a rounded, aromatic, maltiness and plump, rounded, aged spirit working hand-in-hand with the cask. Good texture and mouthfeel, with a rich, wood spice, cask-led finish.
The Dregs
Great stuff. While this is definitely cask-heavy, there’s a nice balance at work with the maltiness of the spirit. I’ve never owned a bottle of Glen Elgin, but whenever I try an indie bottling it’s almost always a stand-out dram with that fat maltiness as a signature. A fine dram indeed.
Score: 7/10
Review 6/6
Ledaig 3yo, Adelphi Selection, First-fill Oloroso Hogshead #5730, 58.8% ABV
£60, mostly sold out
Peat-‘n-sherry: Ledaig from a first-fill oloroso hogshead.
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
A 3yo and easily my pick of the outturn
Nose
Wow: right off the bat there’s crispy burnt brisket drizzled with chocolate syrup. Damp weeds in the garden, cinnamon, burnt clove, and dry autumn leaves.
Palate
Much follows through from the nose: burnt chocolate syrup and chargrilled meat, savoury meat drippings, sweet boozy plums, cherries, and red berry compote… drizzled with salty grease. Excellent balance here amongst everything: sweet, savoury, salty, and even a hint of something umami, with nothing overpowering anything else.
The Dregs
My pick of the outturn. This was the sample I was initially most sceptical about, despite being a big fan of the Ledaig spirit and generally loving the peat-and-sherry profile. At three years old I was expecting something young and on the spirity side, but covered over with some sherry to complete the outturn with a peat-‘n-sherry bomb. A dram that wouldn’t quite work, most likely. Boy, was I wrong.
At a mere three years, this drinks like a dram closer to 8-10 years, and the balance between cask and that ropey-tar Ledaig spirit that I love is deft and impressive. This tastes well beyond its years, and if tasting blind there’s no way I would say it was this young. Another dram of this and I might well approach a lofty 8. For three year old whisky. Great stuff.
Score: 7/10
The Final Dregs
There we have it: another solid outturn from Adelphi, with an expected range of scores. I’ll first simply remind folks of our scoring system, which, compared to many other reviewers, we often sound a bit more harsh. Yet that’s mostly because we make more use of the full 1-10 scale while others may not. A 5 or 6 elsewhere is a fairly damning indictment, but here it means exactly what we say: decent but bang average, pretty good, etc. Even with a bottler as renowned and trustworthy as Adelphi not every bottle in every outturn will deliver an earthquake. Nor should we expect them to.
Needless to say, I’ve really enjoyed these samples over the past few weeks. Adelphi has always been a bottler that is a bit on the pricier side for me, but whenever I plant myself at the Adelphi table at a festival and sample their wares, I’m usually always impressed by what they’re offering.
I recall, particularly, their quite crowded table at the Independent Spirits Festival earlier this year where I got to try a number of excellent drams, and I remember walking away from their table thinking “thank God for the indies”. This, at a festival of nothing but indies.
I think you’d be hard pressed to find an outturn from any other bottler with a higher average score than Adelphi. If you’re lucky enough to attend a festival sometime soon, and the fine folks of Adelphi are there, do yourself a favour and pay them a visit. You won’t regret it.
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DD
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Other opinions on this:
Whiskybase:
Glasgow 10yo
Benrinnes 14yo
Dailuaine 15yo
Clynelish 10yo
Glen Elgin 16yo
Ledaig 3yo
Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.
