Berry Brothers & Rudd Glencadam 2011 Cask #800216 & Berry Brothers & Rudd Tullibardine 1993 Cask #954

Berry Brothers & Rudd Glencadam 2011 Cask #800216

Region: Highlands

ABV: 59.7%

Price: £82.90

First up we have a 2011 vintage Glencadam that was bottled in 2023 after a finishing period in a Muscat cask. 255 bottles were released.

Nose

On the nose, we're finding an abundance of syrupy tinned fruit.. mangoes, pineapple alongside some tangerine segments. We're also finding the peel and pith of a navel orange, some candied almonds and brandy snaps. Even though there are prominent fruit aromas, there's a layer of mustiness that mutes the nose and we're left to dig deep into the glass to find them. The alcohol is a bit punchy but you can get past it.

Palate

The palate has a viscous, thick texture, and those tinned tropical fruits are at the forefront once more. There's also lemon cheesecake, light toffee and some fizzy cola bottles. There's an oak spice that lingers into the finish, not quite cinnamon, but close to it. The alcohol, like the nose, packs a punch, but the influence from the Muscat cask finish manages to stand up to this. Time and air brings out honey nut cereal and dried pineapple slices.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose is much more pineapple forward, fresh rather than tinned with syrup.. in fact the nose is fresher and more citrus forward now. Lemons, limes, oranges, a little grapefruit too. We're finding a touch of the original bourbon cask too, a little single cream and greek yoghurt start to appear.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has a similar texture, but it's slightly diminished. However, we are finding a lot of the same tropical and citrus fruits. The palate and finish seem to last a little less time than before, with more of an oak spice and tannic flavour coming through. There's also some candied lemon peel and mango coulis when we go back to it.

Conclusion

The Muscat wine finish has done an incredible job in imparting massive amounts of tropical flavours and aromas to this dram, and we quite enjoy it. The nose is a bit closed off, a bit musty but the palate makes up for this. We're not getting too much distillery character here, but not every cask needs to be spirit forward.

Score: 7/10

Value

It feels a touch pricey, but we assume the extra cost is due to them using a Muscat cask to finish this.

Berry Brothers & Rudd Tullibardine 1993 Cask #954

Region: Highlands

ABV: 48.6%

Price: £179.95

A 1993 vintage Tullibardine that was matured in a bourbon hogshead for 28 years before being bottled in 2021. 259 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with a certain mature aroma, dusty cupboards, pencil shavings, waxed lemon rind, dry crackers, salted rice cakes and a little bit of stone fruit as you go back to nose again. Very light alcohol spice here, and as we go deeper we're finding more cask influence such as vanilla essence and malted milk biscuits.

Palate

The palate begins with a pleasant sweetness, a little bit of simple syrup and barley sugars but moves quickly into the stripped wood/pencil shaving flavour. It's a dram that goes from sweet to dry in the blink of an eye, Going back, we're finding shortbread minus the sugar, yeasty bread dough, fresh cut grass and overripe banana. There's something slightly charred here.. well fired oak or a burnt pizza base.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose brings al little more fruitiness, there's a little citrus peeking through alongside a little soft peach. It's still relatively woody, dry, furniture polish and pencil shavings. It maintains a nice alcohol balance and still has a certain maturity to it.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate loses a bit of mouthfeel which is to be expected, and the banana flavours become more pronounced - a mixture of mashed banana and banana chips. There's still a lot of stripped oak, bread dough and light barley sugars similar to the unreduced nose.

Conclusion

A pleasant nose which justifies the age but isn't particularly exciting or overly complex. The palate is overly dry and oaky, not leaving much room for any other flavours to shine though. There's things to enjoy in this dram, but for us it's a bit too dry.

Score: 6/10

Value

Good value for a 28yo, but that’s not surprising given it was released a few years ago. Still available from a few retailers at time of writing.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

If you like what you’ve read then check out our social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to get notifications of when we post a new review or just to chat about whisky with us.