Another of the bonus samples from the SDT. Today we have a rarity. Adelphi is a company like High West, they are basically a blending house. The Winter Queen is a blended malt from 3 distilleries. 2 are single malt scotches, Longmorn and Glenrothes, and the other is Millstone from the Dutch distillery Zuidam. The youngest whisky is 9 years old, not sure what the ages of the older ones are. Per an article I read, this is made from a bourbon matured cask of Longmorn, a couple liters of sherry matured Glenrothes and two casks of sherry matured Millstone. 1 of 866 bottles. Bottled at 52.7% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of a red mahogany. A fairly big hit of alcohol up front but it settles down fast. Initial thoughts are that this is more of a sherry finished rye or high rye bourbon. Oak, musty cardboard and mint. Lots of sherry, toffee, caramel, mocha and maple. Cherries, marzipan and almonds. The familiar bubblegum note I find in many bourbons is here along with pine resin, herbal notes and pencil erasers. Black pepper, clove and maybe some licorice with a hint of sulphur. After it sits a good long while (I let it sit over an hour because I got sidetracked) there is an aromatic, mineral quality that I assume is the Longmorn coming through. Water brings more of the mineral notes with some sourdough bread. Once it sits long enough that’s all you get and the sherry bomb that once was is all but gone. A surprising transformation. The palate is rich sherry, maple, oak, syrupy and toffee. Very bourbon/rye-like with an unusual taste in the development which I can only attribute to the Zuidam component as I’ve never tasted it in any scotch. Very grainy and malty. Some light fruits beneath the peppery heat in the form of apple skins and plums. Oak and more black pepper. Again, with lots of time and a little water, the Longmorn really comes through and dominates the experience. With water it becomes chalky, mineral and slightly metallic. A full bodied mouthfeel that is oily, mouthwatering and mouth coating. The finish is long with sherry oak, spices and more mineral notes. Very odd for a blended malt, but then again it’s from two different countries so who’s to say what it should taste like. Until water is added and it has time to breathe it really is more like a sherried bourbon. After that the scotch DNA really asserts itself. It’s very good regardless of what it’s made of. At $130 I would say that this is worth the price, and the rarity factor makes it that much more enjoyable. A solid 4.25 and thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample. Cheers