Glencadam 13 Year (Single Cask Nation)

 

I had some store credit to use at Single Cask Nation (Thank you, Josh) and after much debate I picked up this most curious 13 year Glencadam. 

Glencadam is a distillery in the Highlands region owned by Angus Dundee, who also owns Tomintoul - which I have a sneaky and probably illegitimate liking for. My very first independent bottling tasting included a wonderful Tomintoul that tasted like marshmallows - I've never forgotten it. 

Here are the official tasting notes from Single Cask Nation: 

NOSE: Springtime in the green house: fresh compost, potting soil, and geraniums with salted limes, fruit flavored ribbon candy, and, dare we say it, an enjoyable ever-so-delicate soapiness.

PALATE: Sweet and bright to begin with a grab bag of penny store candies (think Pixy Stix, Fun Dip, Candy Dots, and Smarties Lollies), chamomile tea with lemon and honey, Red Hot Dollars (raspberry flavored chews), and fresh lavender blooms.

FINISH: Delightfully floral with lasting lavender, penny store candy brightness, and warm honey.

And here is their flav-o-meter: 

I am a real sucker for these chalky candy notes - which I commonly get from Clynelish as well - so I'm very excited by this. Also, I rarely see 7/10 sweetness in their ratings, or 6/10 floral. 

This is 13 years old - the initial 10 in ex-bourbon, the final 3 in a shaved/toasted/recharred sherry barrique (!). Bottled at a bracing 60.2% ABV, let's investigate: 

Nose: The neck pour is interesting because it's both super earthy and super fruited: loam or potting soil is right on the money from the official notes, along with overripe raspberry followed by tangy lime, strawberry, sour cherry, apple, unripe tropical fruit (pineapple?), and stewed plums. 

With time: All of the above, but moreso. Actually no - the fruit overpowers the earthy elements the longer this stands. Addition of water is the same. 

Mouthfeel: Super viscous, surprisingly so. Almost syrupy. 

Palate: The official notes are, happily, right on this too - An underpinning of caramel or honey is overlaid with tons of fruity candies like Pixy Stix, Smarties, Starburst, Skittles, Fun Dip, etc. It's a bright, bright sugary palate, and it's mixed with a really wonderful wave of spice including dried lavender, cinnamon, and allspice. 

Finish: Raspberry, lots of floral candies like Parma Violets and something akin to "blueberry chalk," cinnamon, and honey. The sweetness and high ABV create a nice glow on the tongue and the finish lasts quite a long time. 

Verdict: What's funny is that at first I assumed the flavors here were mostly due to the STR sherry barrique, but no - I went back and read my old Glencadam review from a 9 year second fill ex-bourbon and it was extremely similar - honey, big red fruit, flowers for days. 

I think, if anything, the sherry contributes the thick "potting soil" note, and maybe some wisps of smoke I faintly sense (?). 

Either way, this is a 10/10 sugary single malt Scotch - high octane, high flavor, LOTS of pleasant things going on, little corners that continue to surprise me. I love it. Highly recommended it you stumble across it in the wild.