Cardhu 21yo, 2013 Special Release, 54.2%
To gauge the ties between Cardhu and Johnnie Walker, one need only consider that as far back as 1893, John Walker and Sons considered the distillery so integral, they bought it. And so it has been since, when you drink Johnnie Walker, you’re drinking a fair amount of Cardhu. This also gives an idea why you almost never see it sold on to third parties, despite it’s 6 stills and 2.3 million litres a year.
The visitor centre is surprisingly small given the scale of the distillery.
Also Glenfiddich and Cardhu are more intimately linked than you’ld think. When Cardhu was expanded in 1880, its old and small stills were sold on to a would-be distiller by the name of William Grant. But these are the stills-shapes since:
Fairly large and conventionally shaped with straight lyne arms. To find out about Cardhu’s original stills, you’ld have to head on to the valley of the deer.
(masterofmalt.co.uk)
Nose: Soft and supple, posh hotel lobby elegance. Mature oak and its friends are quite loud here but never in the way. Soft meadow flowers and a herb bush after a morning shower, bowl of berries, browning apple slices, cotton sheets. Very friendly; very easy. With water: More pine, leaf sap, juniper?
Palate: Softly sweet with a balance of berry tartness, some green sap, on a big bed of ginger and woodspices that swell out from the background. Some varnish on splintered wood, juniper. With water: Softer fruit, more citrus zing, but much more accessible. Needed water!
Finish: Long, and dry with tartness and leaf sap.
This is actually really good, but this is a special release after all, it has to be good. I have in my mind hints of its light green fresh spirit and somehow the odd idea that younger iterations might give Glenfiddich a real run for its money if marketed.
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