Glencadam 32 Years Old 1982

A distillery release of Glencadam, a 32 year old, from 1982, cask 745, at 50.8%, 275 bottles in all. Glencadam is a Highland single malt, long a core flavour of the Ballantine's blend. Its single malts are bottled at 46 percent, without chill filtration or added colour. It was founded in 1825 by the merchant George Cooper, soon after the Excise Act made licensed distilling viable.

It was distilled in onion shaped copper pot stills, building a soft malt of orchard fruit and a creamy sweetness. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanillin and a soft coconut under the malt. At a great, fragile age oxidation rules, sotolon lending honey and dried fig as beeswax and a waxy note linger. A soft, creamy texture from the spirit carries through the maturation. Years in oak deepen the spirit to old gold, the body growing rounder and creamier with time. Active wood frames the fruit without ever crowding the light Highland spirit.

At a hearty 50.8% it carries real weight. A light orchard fruit and a green herb, lifted by a soft oak. A green apple and a gentle citrus lift the middle. The finish is light, fruity and clean. This is the gentle, fruity malt of the eastern Highlands.