James Eadie Glen Garioch 13yo cask #374456 & James Eadie Caol Ila 12yo cask #313104

James Eadie Glen Garioch 13yo cask #374456

Region: Highlands

ABV: 52.5%

Price: £67.95

Distilled in 2011 and re-racked into a first fill European oak Oloroso cask for a 19 month finish, this Glen Garioch was bottled in 2025 after 13 years of maturation. Just 592 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with some dark treacle, gingerbread, sawn wood, black peppercorns and toffee pennies. Behind this sits more citric aromas, lemon peel, pineapple juice, a little lime leaf, and a floral, lilac note. There’s a lot of the sherry coming through, the Spanish oak giving a spiced, rich, syrupy nose sitting on top of the esthery, tropical Glen Garioch spirit. There’s not too much alcohol spice coming through, it’s fairly well balanced in that regard, and it’s definitely an expressive nose, with more dark chocolate and cherry liqueur notes appearing with time. 

Palate

The palate opens with lashings of caramel, biscuit base, topped with dark chocolate. It’s like a caramel slice, a little less sweet than the real thing though. There’d also toffee pieces, blackcurrants, cinnamon bark, and something a little more herbal, like rosemary stalks. The texture is relatively thick, viscous, and coats the mouth nicely, and we’re finding more bitter cocoa powder and grapefruit peel on the finish. There’s also a fair bit of sour plum and lime coming through. There’s quite a lot going on here. Time and air brings more vanilla and fudge notes, backed up by a warm peppery spice. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose softens some of the sherry spice, and brings much more vanilla, custard cream biscuits, candied pineapple chunks and banana bread. It feels a bit more integrated now, a splash of water has definitely rounded it out. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate follows the reduced nose, those biscuity, vanilla-forward flavours start to appear and the bolder sherried ones fall by the wayside. There’s more upfront sweetness now, simple caster sugar, and the acidic flavours have drifted towards sweetened ice tea. 

Conclusion

The nose is perhaps a little disjoined, we’re unsure if the aromas are melding together fully, it feels like there’s two layers to the dram - the sherry, then the distillery spirit. The palate has a bit more integration but there’s notes flying at us from every angle. It’s a tasty dram and one for the fans of an earthier, wood spice-driven sherry cask

Score: 6.5/10

Value

A good price for a 13-year-old sherry-finished Glen Garioch.

James Eadie Caol Ila 12yo cask #313104

Region: Islay

ABV: 52.3%

Price: £72.95

Distilled in 2012 and fully matured for 12 years in a re-charred ex-bourbon hogshead, this Caol Ila was bottled in 2025 after those 12 years of maturation. Just 314 bottles were released.

Nose

The nose opens with iodine, saltwater, fish sauce, turpentine, tobacco leaves and fresh dirt. It’s quite punchy peat-wise, and there’s a chemically sourness to the dram, like lemon scented cleaning spray. The alcohol is well integrated, no issue getting our noses deep into the dram, and as it opens up we find more wet cardboard and harbour rope. 

Palate

The palate opens with more sweetness than the nose led us to believe, with sugar syrup, lemon water, sherbet, then the palate develops into smoked haddock, fryer oil, salt water and a little bit of cough syrup. It’s a journey of sweet to fishy, oily, salty flavours, lots of cask character meets lots of spirit character. The mouthfeel is a tad thinner than we’d like, but there’s still some texture here, and the alcohol is in good balance. The finish does last for a good length, mostly lingering smoke. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has more of a pickle brine, dill leaf, salt water, anchovy type of aroma, alongside the coastal peat smoke. There’s more fresh citrus coming through too, and a sprinkling of icing sugar. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate feels creamier, fresher, zingier up front, then moving into an earthier, smokier, slightly pepperier sensation. All of those original flavours are still around though. 

Conclusion

Fairly classic Caol Ila, a little more cask influence than others of this age, likely due to the recharred hogshead, which has given it a little lift of sweetness without changing the character too much. Pretty tasty.

Score: 7/10

Value

You’d be hard-pressed to find a cheaper 12-year-old batch strength Caol Ila.

• 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.