Adelphi 'Ardnagherkin' Peated 2015 6 Year Old Cask No: 672

The aroma is like cider vinegar, a pigsty, cow manure, pickled cucumbers, chip shop onions, and damp dog. It genuinely smells like pickled pig excrement! The taste offers wet peat, sweetness, caramel, vanilla, and faint stone fruit. The finish is brief, featuring light peat smoke, char, traces of fruit, and a salty, quite tart aftertaste. This expression is one of 253 bottles, from Cask No: 672, aged in an Ex-Glen Moray cask. There was an issue with this barrel, preventing its use in any batch. However, they decided it still tasted good and wanted to share it, acknowledging its bizarre nature and bottling it anyway. I appreciate that philosophy! This is incredibly strange! The nose genuinely resembles pig feces. A tartness runs through the flavor, connecting it to the 'gherkin' branding. It's odd, and thankfully, it tastes much, much better than it smells. It's enjoyable. Strange, but enjoyable. Without a doubt, this is one of the most peculiar whiskies I've ever encountered. It smells, well, like shit! But the taste is fantastic. It wasn't my top choice of the tasting, but it's the one I most desired to acquire. There's a peculiar satisfaction in having such a challenging whisky to share with friends – "Try this! It smells awful but tastes great!". Sadly, I didn't win the ballot, but I'll be on the lookout for it, just in case! A tasting note from the participant 'Vineet' stated: "Smells like Scottish tablet that fell in the shitter!". That's quite accurate. It ranked tied for fourth out of the six drams, receiving 9% of the votes for favorite of the night. 72% of attendees indicated they liked the whisky.