Cadenheads Enigma Blended Malt 27yo & Cadenheads Enigma Islay 15yo

Cadenheads Enigma Blended Malt 27yo

Region: ???

ABV: 51.5%

Price: £175.00

Unfortunately, Cadenheads have not provided any details about this release, but we have heard that it’s possibly a Glenfiddich.

Nose

The nose opens with fresh green apple, vanilla paste, butter biscuits, toffee bon bons, ginger sponge cake, cocoa nibs and a little warehouse must. It's a fairly light, sweet bourbon nose, quite a typical Speyside character for us. The alcohol is a bit more prominent than expected given the low 50's ABV, however it's not too overpowering in the grand scheme of things. Time and air brings out honeycomb, pear drops and a little white pepper.

Palate

The palate opens with lots of freshly pressed apple juice, a little fresh lemon too, melon balls, simple sugar and lime zest. It's really zingy, very citrus forward, a little spritzy, it reminds us of white grape Shloer. The mouthfeel has texture but is a little thin for our tastes, but the finish lingers for a good length with warm flavours of nutmeg, Stroopwaffles, wholemeal bread and a bit of ginger spice at the end. Again, the alcohol feels a little warm but it's quite a pleasant spice as it lingers on the tongue.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has more upfront vanilla, we're finding fondant icing, whipped cream, maybe some custard filled doughnuts too. Behind this there's some more oak aromas, freshly sawn planks, brown sugar and hazelnuts. Less fruit here, but there's still lots of sweeter, bourbon aromas to be found.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate still maintains some of that citrusy, zestiness, however like the reduced nose, there's more of that oak coming through. There's not much change in the spice levels, just more vanillas, caramels and brown sugar flavours to be found.

Conclusion

A perfectly pleasant, fruity, drinkable malt. It's got some hallmarks of an older whisky, but we'd have put it closer to the 20 year old mark if tasting blind. Good quality bourbon cask maturation and we'd happily drink another few drams of it.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

£175 is pretty reasonable for a 27yo cask strength release in this day and age.

Cadenheads Enigma Islay 15yo

Region: Islay

ABV: 54.8%

Price: £110.00

Another release where details are scarce.

Nose

The nose carries through the whole room as soon as the dram is poured, and the peat is unmistakable. We're finding chimney soot, prickly pear, grilled lemons, sawdust, smoked mackerel and some sea salt flakes. Initially it wasn't particularly coastal, however it seems to tend towards those aromas as it opens in the glass. The alcohol feels present, but the smoke stands up to the white pepper spice. There's a little bit of vanilla sweetness right in the background as we go back to the dram.

Palate

The palate opens with citric acid, pink peppercorns initially, but moves into white pepper and lots of creamy vanilla sweetness on the latter part of the palate.. it's much sweeter than expected. The smoke is very much present but works as a background note rather than engulfing your palate. We're also finding salted caramel, bonfire embers, a little raw spirit and some chili spice on the good length finish. The mouthfeel is relatively syrupy, and we're getting some coffee.. mocha specifically as we take another sip.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has more of a mellow peat, however its still very much present. There's also a little smoked meat now rather than fish, it feels more savoury. Overall the dram feels more simple than before dilution... we don't think it benefits too much from water.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate gains more of the cask sweetness, banana bread, ginger cake, with lots of smoke still kicking around. The smoke feels rounder, and actually blends well with the stronger cask flavours. Again, it feels like there's less going on now, but oddly it feels a little more drinkable.

Conclusion

This is one of those drams where the peat is much heavier on the nose than the palate, and we were surprised at how much of the bourbon cask sweetness came through as we sipped at it. It's a good quality Islay malt, well balanced, good body and a pleasant finish.

Score: 7.5/10

Value

Hard to judge without knowing the distillery.

• 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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