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Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Glencadam 15 year old

I wish there were more opportunities to try Glencadam's single malt. It's neither a highly desired distillery, nor is it frequently bottled by the indies. And rarely have I heard anyone say, "Hey, who wants in on the new Glencadam?"

Though I adored my two bottles of the Brechin distillery's malt, it's been eight years since I reviewed the official 21yo (which I bought right after the post). Over the past two years, I've consumed at least 1/3 of a bottle's worth of samples of the current official 15 year old — spending nearly as much as an actual 700mL bottle of the stuff — trying to sort out the whisky. My palate has almost always picked up some sort of peat, or nearly-peat, notes on Glencadam even though the distillery allegedly uses unpeated malt. The mystery remains unsolved. Here's my last sample of the 15:

Distillery: Glencadam
Owner: Angus Dundee Distillers
Region: Eastern Highlands
Age: minimum 15 years
Maturation: bourbon casks
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltration? No
e150a? No
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

Barley, funky honey, almond extract and Cow Tales candy fill the nose's foreground. A heavy industrial (without being peaty) note sits in the middle. Orange zest and orange blossoms sit in the back. More barley and yeast notes arrive with time, as do bits of toasted coconut and sharp cheddar.

I find both peppery smoke and charred chile skin notes in the palate. It's impressively devoid of sweetness, with sharp grapefruit and tart green grapes in the midground, and plenty of grassiness in the background.

It finishes slightly earthy, with tart citrus and the charred chiles.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Still can't crack it. It probably isn't peated, but something is going on with the spirit that reads smoke-like. That contributes towards making the all-bourbon-cask whisky more interesting than other more famous Glens, and it has that great 46%/nc/ncf presentation. Whether you're ordering from in Europe, or buying it here in The States, its price isn't terrible. But I'm not sure I'm going chase down a bottle of my own. Might just have to try it again. 🙂

Availability - many specialty whisky retailers around the world
Pricing - $70-$85 (USA); $60-$70 (Europe) 
Rating - 85