Glencadam 21 Year Old

Glencadam is an overlooked distillery. It’s a rather low-key brand with a low-key label. It’s also a rather spirity spirit, which isn’t always an easy sell. But it just so happens that I’m a big fan. A highlander in every sense of the word, they have some real winners in their range. Today it’s the 21 year old.

Nose: Calm and complex. Butter, shortbread, vanilla, oak, toffee, cashews, apples, pears, gentle baking spices, and marmalade. Excellent nose, as inviting as they get.

Palate: A quiet arrival. Medium bodied, maybe a bit oily. Baking spices first, with apple, toffee, nuts, butter, éclairs, marmalade, and barley.

Finish: Medium-long and dynamic. Butter, pineapple, honey, cream, cashews, macadamia, shortbread, coconut, granola, orange candy, black coffee, roasted malt, and lingering spices.

Thoughts: It’s certainly not a whisky in a rush. An easy sipper with plenty to explore. I like the oak and sherry here. It’s both woody and fruity, but not too much of either. In fact the spirit still has a lot to say after 21 years. The wood in particular has imparted a gentle, sturdy spice compliment which lingers just behind the core flavours of butter, toffee, vanilla, nuts, and fruit. We’ve even got a touch of that coconut note which I love so much in the 10.

Overall this is a great bang-for-buck bottle. It’s surprisingly affordable and suitably complex for a 21 year old. But while the flavours offer plenty of complexity, the actual character of the whisky is quite straightforward. Not a flashy whisky. Instead it’s a refined and delicious example of a well-aged highlander. Recommended.

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