Cadenhead Small Batch BenRiach 2008
$117.99
A lovely young BenRiach from the Billy Walker era of production. This cheeky youngster proudly bears the DNA of the distillery, despite its independent status and rather naked presentation. A pair of sister casks (two Hogsheads, actually) were married together to shore up the outturn a little bit, and what we ended up with was a healthy 564 bottles. Sadly, only a handful of which made it Canada.
Expect this one to be creamy and full of soft white-fleshed freshed, maybe a hint of pineapple and some toasted oak notes. These expressions are ultra drinkable, despite the high abv. Natural strength, natural color and unchill-filtered.
58.9% abv
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Fresh with light citrus notes, sweet wood spice
Palate: Oily, old leather, hints of wood smoke, toffee biscuit
Finish: Buttered gingerbread, green apple, toasted coconut
Cadenhead Small Batch Speyburn 2008
$117.99
Speyburn largely flies under the radar here, but the reality is that this distillery is quite a formidable presence in the whisky world. Nearly half a million litres of annual production, and only a portion allocated to the blenders. So where is the rest going? Europe and the US, apparently. The parent company seems content to concentrate on some of the other distilleries in their portfolio for the Canadian market, so if we want the really interesting Speyburn malts we turn to the independent bottlers. Like Cadenhead.
Two ex-Bourbon Hogsheads yielded 540 bottles. Only a handful came to us.
55.6% abv
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Freshly cut grass, clementines, spearmint leaves
Palate: Crunchy honeycomb, wood oil, foam bananas
Finish: Menthol, pineapple sweets, deep fried seaweed
Cadenhead Small Batch GlenAllachie 1992
$186.19
Timing is everything. We're tickled pink to have had a wide range of indie GlenAllachie lately to complement the recent launch of GlenAllachie as a viable brand in its own right. The independent bottlings, while often being as good or better than their official counterparts, are also great for providing perspective as to what the dsitillery's character really is. The mass market releases are great, of course; they're meant to be. But if you really want to round out your knowledge, check out bottlings like this quarter century gem from Cadenhead. And if you do...pause for a moment and consider that this was distilled at a time when the distillery was only half as old as it is now.
56% abv
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Ginger biscuits, nettle leaves, linseed oil
Palate: Chocolate orange cake, green apples, tinned peaches
Finish: Quite fresh with peppermint sweets and tea leaf
Cadenhead Small Batch Auchentoshan 1999
$205.99
Cadenhead Creations 2007 Blend 10 Year
$114.99
A 10 Year KWM Creations Blend!
Cadenhead Small Batch An Islay 2008
$169.99
Bottled at 54.9%, this reputedly Lagavulin was bottled at 9 years of age after maturing in a Bourbon Barrel and a Sherry Hogshead.
Cadenhead Small Batch Cambus 1988
$227.99
Every now and then we end up with a sleeper that sticks around a little longer than expected. This Cadenhead Cambus is just such a one. Why get excited about Cambus, you ask? Well...it's simple, really. This is liquid history. The distillery closed its doors for the last time in 1993. Every dram drunk leaves one less in the world. Let's face it...for whisky folks, there is simply nothing sadder. A bottling well worth scooping up before it's gone. And did I mention that this is a 29 year old single cask bottling at natural cask strength?
45.4% abv and only 294 bottles from a single Bourbon Hogshead.
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Mango, toffee and almonds
Palate: Butterscotch, home made tablet and barley sugar
Finish: Sweet candy floss and sugared almonds
Cadenhead Small Batch Glenturret 1986
$444.99
Bottled at 44.5% we are only getting 6 bottles of this 31 year old Glenturret finished in a Sherry Hogshead (since June 2015)
Cadenheads Tasting Note
Nose: Fruit crumble, stewed fruits and blackberries.
Taste: Honeycomb, milk chocolate and ginger cake. Little waxiness coats the mouth.
Finish: Dark fruits, raisins.
Cadenhead Small Batch Loch Lomond 1997
$191.99
Only 378 bottles came from this marriage of two ex-bourbon barrels. And, of course, only a small handful of those made their way across the pond to land in our modest little shop. Loch Lomond is a bit of a chameleon malt, currently producing 11 different distillates for use in its whisky releases. While it may be hard to pinpoint the distillery's exact character, it's not nearly as difficult to admit that no matter what sort of alchemy they're engaged in, the end product is great. A real belter of a dram at 52.5% abv.
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Kaffir lime leaves, sandal wood, pinecones
Palate: Tea leaves, herbs and lemon zest
Finish: Freshly cut grass, oak