Ardbeg Adelphi 2004 14 Years Old

A little background

It is not everyday that Ardbeg lets go of barrels for independent bottlers. That is a testament to Adelphi, who is considered a Tier 1 Independent bottler to have a chance to source such a barrel. Adelphi, who decided bottling is no longer enough also owns Ardnamurchan Distillery , one of the newest distilleries (non-craft) in Scotland. This is one of the few Ardbeg bottlings Adelphi has ever done. Only 4 bottles came into New Zealand – That is 1 bottle per million people (yes we are a tiny country) Lots of sheep though! Ardbeg Adelphi 2004 14 Years Old is bottled at 121.4 proof and comes from cask number 700171.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn Glass)

Color

Very Light Gold

Nose

Is this Ardbeg or Jet Fuel? Salinity, VERY savoury – not much sweetness.  Bandage glue – like that brown sports/medical tape. The nose is quite a face kicker – White pepper, spice, ginger, black pepper. Everything about the nose so far is a peat overload. Unripe pear, unripe apricot. But difficult to go past the extreme woft of peat and burnt rubber, glue and oil.

With water: Like a whiteboard marker (don’t pretend you have never sniffed that stuff). Becomes more pine resin and relatively soft. The nose subdues with water, I prefer the nose without water.

Palate

BOOM! I think this is what Cannibal corpse meant when they wrote ‘Hammer on Face’ – Holy moly!

Jalapeno pepper, Green pepper, Fresh cut grass, Grassy notes.Straight on the palate, This is unforgiving. The ABV is extreme! Followed instantly by heavy smoke, Smoked meat – Bacon, smoked beef. Oily as hell, coats the mouth. Rubber gumboot, fresh rubber and a smouldering smoking campfire with wet wood, wet leaves – pure smoke and peat. It is hard to taste this. Heat – Not a sharp heat but heat like a chilli. Slightly earthy but It is making my mouth salivate ridiculously.

With Water: It tames the fire a bit but this is still liquid smoke. You do get to taste more with water and it does open up. You start to get more earthiness and separation of flavours

Finish

This whisky is so oily, it coats the mouth and doesn’t want to – well stop being in your mouth. The finish is everlasting, It stays in my mouth for a long time – I would say not so much complexity though it is, It is a strong whisky, flavour and alcohol alike. I have never had a whisky with a finish this robust before.

In conclusion

Imagine being in the 1700s with a kerosene lamp lighting up your house, or better yet, having a burning tire at the end of the street. That is what it smells and tastes like. This is unforgiving and is not for the fainthearted. In fact, I would say most people would probably curl up and die from this. With water, definitely a lot more palatable but it is an experience just to have it neat and straight.

However – A big however. It is a great whisky – an example of the extremes of what single barrel expressions can be – you side by side this with any Ardbeg and you can see the similarities but also distinctly different and unique. Single barrel expressions are not for everyone, but it is more of an experience to expand one’s palate. 

Is this a session whisky? Only if you are Vladimir Putin – or a Baby eating Dragon! But you could definitely start on it and then have a steak – Just so you don’t faint or move onto something softer. Or, end on it because after a few drams you would be more acclimated to alcohol. If you’re interested in finding a bottle of Ardbeg Adelphi 2004 14 Years Old, bottles can still be found around the US and the UK if you search hard enough.