Cadenhead’s Speyside-Glenlivet 27yo Authentic Collection October 2024 & Cadenhead’s Spirit of Yorkshire Authentic Collection October 2024

Cadenhead’s Speyside-Glenlivet 27yo Authentic Collection October 2024

Region: Speyside

ABV: 40.2%

Price: £165.00 

Distilled in 1997 and matured in a bourbon hogshead, this whisky was bottled in October 2024. A total of 228 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with lots of upfront pear, pear skin, pear drops, fizzy apple sweeties, a little malt, butter biscuits and tinned custard. The alcohol is balanced in the sense that it's pretty much non-existent, but the natural reduction over the 27 years ensures there's still some body to the dram. Going back, we're finding warm buttered popcorn, parma violets, and brioche bread.

Palate

The palate opens with slightly maltier, biscuitier notes of shortbread fingers dusted in sugar, sliced red apples, and summer fruits squash. There's a lot of fruitier notes on the palate, even some red berries, and these really do linger on for quite some time. The mouthfeel is good for the ABV, it's got a milky sort of texture, and the alcohol is barely noticeable. Going back, we're finding honey butter, green grapes and simple syrup.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose brings more malty, nutty, oakier aromas to the forefront, pushing the fruit into the background. There's white sandwich bread, a little lemon water, simple syrup and dried coconut flakes. We enjoyed the nose without water, it felt a little more balanced aroma-wise.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate feels creamier, more custard, butter biscuits, a little more sugar but also a bit more malt in the background to balance it. There's still some fruit on the back palate, and the finish remains quite long and enjoyable. There's more of a cakiness now, some sponge with a hint of almond essence. It's like drinking fruit juice, and that's quite dangerous at 40%.

Conclusion

The nose was a little boring for us, but the palate is a real explosion of sweet, fruity flavours. It's not particularly complex but it's really quite tasty, and we'd happily drink a few drams.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

while not cheap it’s definitely a pretty good price for a 27yo.

Cadenhead’s Spirit of Yorkshire Authentic Collection October 2024

Region: England

ABV: 59.4%

Price: £105.00 

Distilled in 2017 and matured in a Fino hogshead, this whisky was bottled in October 2024. A total of 288 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with some tart red/purple fruits, plum jam, treacle, rich creme brulee with the torched sugar topping, cloves, almond paste and cinder toffee. The alcohol is fairly prominent, it's a bit musty with some peppery spice. Going back, we're finding toasted oak, well fired pizza dough and artificial blackcurrant cordial aromas. Clearly sherried from the nose, but not obviously fino - we'd have guessed oloroso or palo cortado.

Palate

The palate opens with lots of brown sugar sweetness, a mix of dark berries, blackcurrants, liquorice, clove, cassia bark and treacle. There's some candied ginger and cracked black pepper too. The spice is there, it's slightly too warming with a bit of bitterness that rides through the good length finish. The mouthfeel is pretty good, it's got a caramel sauce-like texture to it. We're also finding some digestive biscuits and a little apple in the background too.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose doesn't change too much, less upfront fruit, more oak, more rich, nutty, sherried aromas. The treacle, toffee and caramel notes are all standing out for us, and the alcohol kick feels slightly more in balance.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate continues with the blackcurrants, berries, ribena flavours, with sweeter flavours coming through, it's slightly less dry now. There's still lots of toffee, brown sugar (light brown sugar now), and crystalised ginger. The palate feels more in balance now, and we prefer it with a few drops of water. A big, bold sherried whisky that feels a few years older than it is.

Conclusion

The full maturation in the fino cask has given the dram so much aroma and flavour, however we're not getting much of the distillery spirit character, it feels like it's been covered by the sherry. Saying that, it's good quality sherry, it gives more of an oxidised style for us as opposed to the drier fino that it was aged in.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

Feels a touch expensive, but is in line with other single cask releases we’ve seen.

• 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.