Continuing on from the success of the PX Reserva, Andalucia Oloroso Reserva & the Porto Tawny Cask Reserva come a new wave of cask finishes for 2024 and all at the usual Whisky Situation price of £39! Winners of this year's IWSC category for best single malt & for the money versus quality of whisky, Glencadam are absolutely annihilating the competition.
The Madeira Cask has been created in small batches by their Master Distiller, who has carefully selected single malt matured in American oak-exbourbon casks from their historic dunnage warehouses. The Single malt in the casks is then married in the best Madeira wine casks sourced from Portugal's Madeira islands. As usual natural colour, no chill filtration etc. Just pure goodness
Nose: Invting aromas of cooked apples, bramble & custard tars with syrup sponge cake, nutmeg & berry coulis
Palate: A wash of spiced fruits, cantaloupe melon, golden raisins and summer fruit pudding structured with dark chocolate & ginger spices
Finish: Long & indulgent layers of brittle toffee, mocha & chocolate truffle cushioned with cosy cake spices
Glencadam’s new make character of flowers and pear drops is a direct result of a distillation regime that maximises reflux – the lyne arms on the stills are angled upwards. Its mature character, especially when matured in refill American oak, has a soft buttery quality that adds a silkiness to the palate.
Glencadam, which is situated in the Burgh of Brechin, was built in the era of optimism that followed the passing of the 1823 Excise Act. After passing through a number of owners, it became part of the estate of Glasgow blender Gilmour Thompson & Co which bought the distillery in 1891.
The blending house ceased trading in 1954 when Glencadam was sold to Canadian distiller Hiram Walker, which was then starting its first acquisitive sweep through Scotland. Through a process of amalgamation it became part of Allied Distillers and was seen as being the ‘home’ of the Dundee blend Stewart’s Cream of the Barley.
Allied mothballed the plant in 2000 but it was purchased three years later by London-based Angus Dundee [see Tomintoul]. Angus Dundee’s blending lab is now located at the distillery.
A quiet player for most of its existence, Glencadam is slowly emerging as a single malt in its own right. Its recent proprietary bottlings have not been chill-filtered or caramel tinted.
