Scotch Whisky Review #446: Adelphi Selection Ben Nevis 5 Year First Fill Oloroso Sherry Cask (2015)

Distillery: Ben Nevis.

Bottler: Ben Nevis.

Region: Highland.

Age: 5 Year. Distilled in 2015 and bottled in 2020.

ABV: 58.9%. Cask Strength.

Cask Type: First Fill Oloroso Sherry Casks.

Cask Number: 10712.

Color: 1.9, Brown Sherry.

This dram is the twentieth of 2022’s Christmas Countdown! Whiskies from previous years can be found here.

Every year, I look at the advent calendar offerings that pop up across the pond and think that it would be super cool to do something like that (it is actually the inspiration for my review spree in December). Turns out, I wasn’t the only one who wanted to do one so between /u/federalagents, /u/DangerousDoorknob, and I we put our own together! This is the nineteenth dram of the calendar. It was reviewed partially blind as in I know the whiskies in the calendar but not the order.

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Nose: Oh this is a sherry bomb alright. You get smacked with a huge amount of sherry right as you go to nose it. There really isn’t a whole lot else going on other than the sherry, maybe a touch of molasses.

Palate: While there is a lot of sherry going on, that is not the star of the show. You get some of the characteristic bread notes of Ben Nevis along with a a lot of chocolate resulting in something between a chocolate bread and a chocolate lava cake. Some molasses wrap things up.

Finish: Medium in length. Hazelnuts what stand out most with a bit more sherry and a bit more sherry.

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Guess: Scotland. Malt. Highland. 5-9 Year. 55-60% ABV. Adelphi Ben Nevis 5 Year.

Reveal: Adelphi Selection Ben Nevis 5 Year First Fill Oloroso Sherry Cask (2015).

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Conclusion: Whatever Adelphi has done to this Ben Nevis cask, they need to just keep doing. They’ve taken a young whisky and turned it into delivering a delicious sherry bomb that still retains some of the base distillate characteristics. The chocolate bread/cake notes that dominate the palate are fantastic. Is this overall a bit simple? Sure, but if you can consistently pump out something this tasty, I think you’d have a winner.

Final Score: 82.

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Scotch Whisky Review #446, Highland Review #90, Whisky Network Review #601

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky and I will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection if feasible.
• 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product and I’m likely wanting a bottle or two.
• 80-84: Quite good, pleasant overall though there is usually a few things that could be improved still.
• 75-79: Good, enjoyable to drink but ultimately flawed.
• 70-74: Alright, solid and wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.