The Glover by Adelphi 22 YO
The Glover by Adelphi 22 YO, 53,1%
This is a series of blended malts produced by independent bottler Adelphi. 'The Glover' is produced in honor of Thomas Blake Glover, 'The Scottish Samurai'. He was a Scottish entrepreneur and businessman that established the first business dealings between the UK and Japan in the 18th century. Here at Whisky Saga we have previously reviewed the 14 YO version of The Glover. I was so lucky as to get to sample this whisky at a tasting event held for NMWL (Norsk Malt Whisky Lag) in connection with 'Whiskyfagmessen 2016' in Jæren in south-western Norway.
The two men responsible for blending this extraordinary whisky are Charles MacLean and Adelphi Managing Director Alex Bruce. The 22 YO consists of a single ex-Sherry hogshead from the closed Japanese distillery Hanyu, whisky from an American oak ex-Sherry hogshead from Longmorn, and finally, a few drops of Glen Garioch from an ex-Sherry butt.
Blending
Creating this blended malt was not a simple process due to Scottish laws pertaining to whisky. First of all, Scottish whisky cannot be blended with whisky of another nationality in Scotland. This meant that the whisky had to be transported to England for blending.
The second obstacle was the fact that Scottish single malt whisky can't be exported anywhere unless it has been bottled. Solving this problem they added a tiny amount of Glen Garioch whisky to the Longmorn, effectively making it a Scotch blended malt.
The path was then open to export the whisky to England where the Japanese/Scottish blend was created. Finally the blended malt was re-imported to Scotland and bottled.
The Glover by Adelphi 22 YO is available at Vinmonopolet in Norway at a whopping NOK 13 990,-.
Nose: This has a sweet and soft nose. I get caramel, vanilla, and fruity chewing gum. A spiciness tending towards ginger and cinnamon. There's also oak notes and coconut.
Taste: Again, on the palate, it is a sweet dram. There's chocolate fudge, vanilla, fruity apples and cherry. The spiciness is here with pepper and oak, and the coconut is also present.
Finish: The finish is long, and goes a bit dryer. The malt becomes present in a way it wasn't at the start.
Comments: By Jove, this is a great malt. Very well balanced and aged.
Score (91/100)
Sláinte! - Kjell Ove