As Scotland's oldest surviving independent bottler, WM Cadenhead's don't get a lot of attention compared to some of the newer, flashier and 'sexier' companies. The company was originally founded in 1842 (predating Gordon & MacPhail by 50-years!) in Aberdeen on the east coast, and in 1858 was purchased by the founder's brother-in-law, William Cadenhead. It passed through a couple of owners in the subsequent century before the stock was auctioned off in the early 70s and the company was sold to the current owners, none other than J&A Mitchell, owners of Springbank & Kilkerran Distilleries. The entire operation was uprooted and re-established in Campbeltown, and Cadenhead's products are bottled in Springbank's bottling hall, with the flagship Cadenhead's store only a few minute's walk from the distillery entrance. That flagship Campbeltown store is really something to behold, with a huge range of single cask bottlings on offer, as well as bargain-priced, hand-filled regional blended malts that are often outstanding value for money. As you'd expect from the parent company, Cadenhead's is very much a "no frills" whisky - and also rum & gin - brand. That shows in the use of relatively plain packaging and understated labelling, even in their high-end bottlings from deceased distilleries, but with no shortage of details about the whisky inside, which of course is what really counts. Crucially, you'll be hard-pressed to find a Cadenhead's single malt that isn't bottled at cask strength, and like all of their owner's single malt products they're always non-chill filtered and naturally coloured.
Cadenhead's 'Authentic Collection' range is one of the single cask collections that is generally only sold from the company's own stores - aside from the Campbeltown HQ there's also one on The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, plus a small one in London and six franchises in Eastern Europe. Sporting understated green labelling and plain packaging - often not even printed with cask numbers - these bottlings aren't as lusted after as some other, more flashy independent bottlings, but those in the know will recognise that they're worth a much closer look. Whisky, like many other things, shouldn't be judged by its coverings! The pricing on initial release is also kept quite reasonable, even with older expressions from highly regarded and collectable distilleries where an equivalent official bottling would be extremely expensive - and this 25-year old single cask Ardbeg certainly fits that description! We don't see many independent bottlings of Ardbeg, particularly those actually labelled as Ardbeg, with the recent examples coming from smaller companies like Elements of Islay and North Star, plus the SMWS of course. Cadenhead's certainly do seem to have their fair share of Ardbeg stock, but it's getting older now, since LVMH seem to be cutting down on sales to blenders and independent bottlers. Interestingly, most of the Ardbeg that Cadenhead's bottle was distilled from 1993-1994, a time when the distillery was on "life support" at the hands of then-owners Allied Distillers, and was only sporadically producing spirit. I'd hazard a guess that Allied was looking to off-load some of that spirit quickly for cash flow reasons, making it easier to get hold of than it would be only a few years later under the new owners. No doubt Glenmorangie & LVMH would've preferred that they hadn't done that!
This particular Cadenhead's Ardbeg is from a single ex-bourbon hogshead (250-litre cask) that was distilled in 1993, with 216 bottles released in early 2019 at a cask strength of 51.6%. Naturally (pun intended) it's non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. An equivalent single cask Ardbeg official bottling would be priced in the multiple thousands of pounds in today's climate, with one of the more recent single cask examples - at just 11-years of age - selling from the distillery for a whopping 500 pounds on release. Given the current popularity and frankly mental pricing of older Ardbegs, I'd expect that figure to quadruple if it was nearer to the age of this 25-year old single cask. Meanwhile while completely sold out this Cadenhead's single cask can still be found at auction for 250-280 pounds, so while not exactly cheap, an independent bottling like this one from Cadenhead's can make such a whisky more affordable for the drinker. Which is the real strength of independent bottlings when it comes to highly lusted-after whiskies like this, where they tend to attract a different buyer to equivalent official bottlings. The sample for this review came from a fellow whisky lover who was able to pick up one of these from an overseas auction, and was generous enough to share the love! Right, it's tasting time...
Distilled 1993, matured in a single ex-bourbon hogshead, bottled early 2019 at cask strength. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 216 bottles.
Colour: Medium gold.
Nose: Somehow both clean & dirty all at once. Fatty & sooty, and sweet & coastal. Old ropes, oyster shells, gentle bonfire smoke and sweet lemon-infused whipped cream. Some dry, chunky, earthy peat, and dry, old charred oak. Bacon rind in dirty cooking grease, and black pepper.
Texture: Medium weight. Fatty & greasy - in a good way! Peaty & lightly oaky. No heat at all.
Taste: Sweet lemon and more cream, smoked white fish, and more chunky peat but it's more muddy now. That dry, old charred oak again, plus more bacon rinds and black pepper. Some liquorice, table salt and a flash of vanilla. A little fresh red chilli, and a slightly floral & lemon sweetness.
Finish: Long length. More bacon rind & black pepper, and chunky dry peat with charred salt-laden driftwood. Dry chilli flakes now, smoked sweet white fish, and more sweet lemon & whipped cream around the edges.
Score: 4 out of 5. Very close to a 4.5 though.
Notes: Delicious dram. I'm not sure that I'd pick it as an Ardbeg though, there's something very Ledaig or even Talisker (with extra peat) here, which makes for a very interesting experience! There's an unusual but very enjoyable balance between sweet, clean & citrus and dirty, fatty & peppery notes from the nose to the finish, which just adds to the complexity. This Ardbeg has clearly been very carefully matured, with the great balance between spirit & cask - even after a quarter of a century in a single hogshead, and it's mellowed nicely in that time without losing a shred of character. I don't imagine that I'll be tasting another 25-year old single cask Ardbeg any time soon, particularly one bottled by the distillery, so there's no easy Ardbeg comparison here. But this is the finest Cadenhead's independent bottling that I've tasted to date. They know what they're doing after all that practice, of course!
This Ardbeg was certainly a bargain - even at the secondary auction prices, if you ask me. Not something you see - or taste - everyday, but it'll stop you in your tracks when you do!
Cheers!
I like what you said about it being a bit ledaig or taliker. I find those years do have those traits good none the less.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes definitely not a bad thing, just different. Cheers!
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