Glencadam 10 Years Old (Bourbon Cask, UK)

Cadenhead, Scotland's oldest independent bottler, Aberdeen born in 1842 and now in Campbeltown, bottled this Glencadam, at 46%. Glencadam is a Highland single malt known for a delicate, fruity, creamy style. It was bought by Angus Dundee Distillers in 2003, who also own Tomintoul, ending a three year closure. In the 1890s the Glasgow blender Gilmour Thomson used its malt in a Royal blend said to be favoured by Edward VII.

The spirit was distilled from unpeated malt, shaping a gentle, fragrant malt with a tropical lift. A bourbon barrel held it, the wood adding a soft honey over the orchard fruit. Through integration spirit and wood marry, vanillin rounding out as esters lend a riper orchard and tropical fruit. First fill wood drives the maturation, the cask clear in the light spirit. Maturation runs slow and even in the cool, racked Highland warehouses.

At 46% it is smooth and fruity. A clean, fruity sweetness with a floral lift, lifted by a soft oak. The body is light and creamy, the fruit lifted by a soft oak. The finish runs delicate, fruity and creamy. This is the gentle, fruity malt of the eastern Highlands.