The Adelphi Distillery is actually one of the lost distilleries of Scotland, which operated from 1826 to around 1907. In 1880, the distillery was acquired by Messrs A. Walker and Co and it was Walker’s great-grandson, Jamie Walker, who restored the Adelphi name in 1993, this time not as a distillery but as an independent bottler.
Jamie Walker was steadfast in his attention to detail and quality and when he sold the brand in 2004, he was keen that Adelphi’s reputation would continue to be upheld. He was approached by Keith Falconer and Donald Houston, who were originally after a single cask of whisky, but they ended up buying the whole business! Keith had been a chartered accountant for 25 years, and Donald still owns a global engineering business, so it was a new experience for both of them. With the addition of Alex Bruce (now a Keeper of the Quaich) and his sister Antonia (both of whom are direct descendants of Andrew Usher) as well as Liz Macdonald (formerly a P.A. to The Beatles!) the team was complete.
Adelphi whiskies are bottled at cask strength, exclusively from ex-sherry or ex-bourbon casks, with no colouring or chill-filtration.