Cadenheads Girvan 33yo & Cadenheads Ardmore 11yo

Cadenheads Girvan 33yo

Region: Lowlands

ABV: 46.0%

Price: £130.00

There's not much information about this 33 year old, except that it was matured in Bourbon casks. There's no mention of how many bottles were made available

Nose

The nose opens with a fairly honeyed scent, honeycomb, vanilla wafers, cooking dark chocolate, alongside a little furniture polish. It's quite a typical old grain nose, with a fair amount of refill bourbon cask influence making the nose quite expressive, even after the reduction in ABV (although we imagine a lot of that will be natural reduction given the age). Going back, we're finding ginger biscuits and lemon scented cleaning products.

Palate

The palate opens with warming vanilla and fudge, alongside heaps of white chocolate. It's very reminiscent of white chocolate mice confectionery, very creamy and incredibly sweet up front. The palate then moves into a little more industrial alcohol, flavours, with almond brittle and milk bottle sweeties on the finish. The mouthfeel is really nice, it's got a double cream-like texture and the finish does stick around for a fair while.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose feels a little richer, with a little bit of cask char, more dark chocolate and some ground ginger. The nose is less sweet, a little mustier with more of that wood polish appearing for us. There's a bit of sponge cake that is detectable when you get deeper into the glass.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate loses a bit of the milky, creamy mouthfeel which is a disappointment, however there's still some texture here. It's still got heaps of white chocolate, coconut and sweet biscuits, it hasn't changed too much at all. We don't think it really needs the water, it doesn't benefit from it.

Conclusion

A really solid old grain, a dessert dram full of white chocolate with a really good creamy mouthfeel. The grain spirit does show through quite prominently in places, but it's pretty well balanced overall. It's like a milkshake disguised as a whisky.

Score: 8/10

Value

Feels a touch expensive given you could get a comparable release from other bottlers at cask strength.

Cadenheads Ardmore 11yo

Region: Highlands

ABV: 46.0%

Price: £55.00

Again, there’s not much information about this 11 year old, except that it was finished in Ruby Port casks for four years. There's no mention of how many bottles were made available.

Nose

The nose opens with a fruit salad of red fruits, berries, currants, we're getting grilled strawberries and maraschino cherries alongside some liquorice and ashy tobacco. The smoke is fairly prevalent here, fairly earthy, highland peat with a touch of salt in the background. Going back, we're also finding a meatier type of aroma, smoked pork knuckle, a hint of maple syrup and Dijon mustard in there too.

Palate

The palate opens with a real meaty BBQ flavour, brown sugar coated bacon, frazzles, burnt coffee beans, overcooked toffee, walnuts, with hints of red kola and freshly turned soil. The peat is fairly prominent on the palate, it engulfs the mouth and leaves a real roasted coffee note. The mouthfeel has a good texture, pretty viscous, and the finish lasts for a fair while with more dry peat, currants, bacon and cask char. The alcohol is a little warmer than we'd expect for the 46% ABV.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose feels a little disjointed as we take a first sniff, it's almost as if the water has separated the earthy peat aromas and the red fruit aromas, not in a particularly good way. There's more salty, meaty BBQ pork aromas that are appearing now, it's slightly closer to what we found on the palate prior.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate now has a bit more fruit upfront, strawberries and cherries mainly, a dash of maldon sea salt and chocolate ganache. The smoke has faded somewhat and become more of a background flavour as opposed to the upfront punch we got before. The mouthfeel is still silky but a bit less so, however the finish maintains a similar length and flavour profile.

Conclusion

The port finish on this dram is much more prominent on the nose than on the palate. The Highland Ardmore spirit definitely shines through on both but with a lot less influence when taking a sip. Saying that, it's a good whisky, lots of meaty BBQ complemented by hints of red fruit and underlying earthy smoke.

Score: 7/10

Value

Good price considering the finish.

• 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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