Cadenhead’s Royal Brackla 15yo Authentic Collection October 2025 & Cadenhead Tomatin 16yo Original Collection September 2025

Cadenhead’s Royal Brackla 15yo Authentic Collection October 2025

Region: Highlands

ABV: 51.6%

Price: £75.00

Distilled in 2010 and re racked into an Amontillado hogshead in 2020, this single cask Royal Brackla was bottled in October 2025 for Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection. 240 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with a touch of dry earth and peanuts, there’s also a little pepper spice but the ethanol is well balanced. Orange juice, sponge cake and custard creams follow, then ginger snap biscuits and digestives. As it opens up in the glass in gains a hint of garam masala, some brown sugar and marzipan.

Palate

The palate opens with a mix of caramel and toffee sauce, butterscotch ice cream and orange peel follows. The mid palate has pears, and a raft of biscuit notes, from digestives and Biscoff to lemon shortbread. The finish is medium length, with ginger and cinnamon spice joining the other notes, but never overpowering them. The mouthfeel is good and has a little texture to it.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose brings more caramel and toffee, sticky toffee pudding and a little fig. A faint savoury note appears reminding us of fresh bread dough. It feels a touch less sweet now, showing more biscuity aromas.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate holds up well. There is a shade more orange rind and a light dark chocolate bitterness on the finish. It’s a touch spicier, but that’s still not an issue. The mouthfeel and finish length remain relatively unchanged.

Conclusion

It feels as though Cadenhead have really mastered the art of additional maturation (or finishing depending on your school of thought), down to a T. The cask finish adds a touch of complexity without overshadowing the base spirit. It is good, but, pardon our French, it still lacks a little je ne sais quoi to lift it to the next level.

Score: 7/10

Value

On top of delivering solid cask finishes, Cadenhead also seem to know how price their releases competitively for today’s market.

Cadenhead Tomatin 16yo Original Collection September 2025

Region: Highlands

ABV: 46.0%

Price: £70

This release was distilled in 2009 and first matured in refill barrels, then re racked into Manzanilla sherry hogsheads in 2020. Bottled in September 2025 for Cadenhead’s Original Collection. No official outturn was stated.

Nose

The nose opens with crème anglaise, porridge oats, tobacco and fresh leather, followed by lemon and a touch of black pepper that gives away the ABV. With time we find fudge, flat cola and crème brûlée. The initial bourbon cask notes remain noticeable beneath the Manzanilla cask finish.

Palate

The palate has butterscotch ice cream, creamy fudge, cola cubes and toffee, then espresso, dark chocolate and orange peel. It is on the sweet side but carries a good mouthfeel for the ABV. The finish is medium with a touch more spice than we expected, though it never tips into unpleasant. Like the nose the bourbon cask still show along with the sherry.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose introduces a little savoury character, most notably raw pizza dough, with some thyme and a hint more spice. Otherwise there’s not a great deal of change to the nose.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate brings burnt brown sugar and treacle, with a hint of coffee bitterness that shows on the finish. Most of the pre dilution notes remain and the spice is slightly better balanced. Mouthfeel remains good given the ABV.

Conclusion

A good dram with or without water, but personally we’d lean towards adding water. It’s got a good mix of flavours from both cask types although the Manzanilla shows more with water. Good complexity for the age. If this had been cask strength we might have went higher, but as it stands we’re going with a 7.

Score: 7/10

Value

We’re not going to complain about the price, but would pay extra for a cask strength version.

• 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.

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