Adelphi: Selection: Tobermory 18 Year (Scottish Island Single Malt Whisky: 18 Year: 58.8% ABV)
Visual: Very dark copper bronze.
Viscosity: Quite thick fast steaks mixed with some thin puckering.
Nose: Stewed dates. Figs. Peaches. Thick. Almonds. Noticeable alcohol. Crème brulee. Treacle. Opens up to fresher fruit with water, stewed apples comes out.
Body: Thick and tarry feel, Caramel. Honey. Alcohol burn only comes out if held for a while. Very smooth initially. Softens to toffee and smoke. Mandarin orange. Water mainly makes smoother for longer. Gives more custard, almonds and syrup.
Finish: Almond slice. Caramel and smoke. Malt chocolate and chocolate orange. Burned oak. Water makes bigger and sweeter.
Conclusion: Holy shit this was the house whisky! This bloody lovely. Despite the high strength it takes a long while held on the tongue before it starts the alcohol burn and the feel is viscous as hell. This really uses the years of age to make it feel luxurious and all this praise is even before we get to the flavor.
It is mainly rich caramel over light charred wood and smoke, the flavor as thick as the texture. This sweetness develops allowing a fruitiness previously promised by the aroma to develop with mandarin orange amongst chocolate. However despite this development you never get the full promise of the aroma. That thing was all stewed fruits and dark flavours, it spilled from the glass and dragged you back to it to take the first sip. If the body had held to the promise of the nose it would be an all time favourite, as is it is still lovely.
The balance of full thick toffee sweetness over smoke is potent and fulfilling, and despite its smoothness neat, it manages to smooth more with water and give a larger range of sweetness. You don’t get that much change of flavor with water, which is a pity considering the strength, but it does sooth and open it. It is always the same whisky, but you get to pick the intensity.
A great pick for a house whisky that shows the fantastic quality of the Tasting Rooms, and also a fine whisky by any measure.
Background: This is one of the Tasting Room’s house whiskies. Seriously. An 18 year Island whisky. Since my experience of Aelphi at whisky shows so far has been very high quality I had to give it a try. This was drunk while waiting for the rest of my friends to turn up (they were late in the end, but it gave me more time to review). This was in the wood between 1994 and 2012.
