Review by: dustbunna

---

Distillery: Glencadam.

Bottler: Cadenhead’s.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 61.2%. Cask strength.

Age: 10 years. Distilled in 2012. Bottled in 2023.

Cask type: Bourbon barrel.

Price: Seem to recall £15-20 for 200mL, though I’ve lost the receipt.

Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Bottle open across approx. 4 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.

---

Nose: crushed seashells, dunnage, yellow fruits, honey, Windex, lemon drop candies, earth, fruits and honey come forward a bit.

Palate: thick body ~ more yellow fruits (plums, nectarines), earth, lemon zest, a little more mineralic as the fill level drops.

Finish: long ~ wet rocks, chalk, salt, more plums, cereals, grist, vanilla cake.

---

Conclusion: Really nice. Very drinkable neat considering the high ABV (though it’s by no means invisible, there is some nice tingly heat throughout.) I’ve never made the Campbeltown pilgrimage, but I handed a glass of this to Maltenberg, who has visited Cadenhead’s, and he said that the smell of the warehouse permeated this dram— that must be at least partly contributing to the dunnage and earth notes here, which I’ve not experienced on other Glencadams. The rest of the dram is pretty much as I expected: Windex is a distinct spirit note for me that I find often with this distillery, along with various mineralic notes, but everything austere is balanced nicely by the stone fruits, honey, and citrus in here. 

The notes on this Glencadam are pretty similar to the standard official 10yr (which is also all ex-bourbon matured), but the balance of flavors is somewhat different, and the whole experience is amplified by the strength. I think the nose is the highest point, and wish some more of the fruitiness made its way into the palate, but that’s a minor nitpick on what’s really a quite vibrant and expressive young Highland.

Final Score: 85.

---

Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.