Welcome back to my little site. Today we are taking a look at two gems from a very underrated distillery from the Highlands. This happens to be one of my favourite hidden treasure because their distillery character is strong & unique and even with cask finishes that heavily influence other whiskies it shows through and shines. I'm talking about the Glencadam distillery. We will check out two bottles from their Small Batch Cask Finish series: the Reserva PX (Pedro Ximenez) and the Porto Tawny.

About the distillery

Glencadam distillery is a distillery in Brechin, Angus, Scotland that produces single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery is owned by Angus Dundee plc.

Glencadam is located in the ancient city of Brechin, in the Eastern Highlands of Scotland. In 2021, a working water wheel was re-installed in the heart of Glencadam Distillery, a nod back to how the distillery was powered back in 1825.

Unusually, Glencadam's stills have lyne arms that run upwards at an angle of 15 degrees, this encourages significant reflux which helps to produce a single malt which is characterised by its tropical and orchard fruit flavours.

All their age statement whiskies are bottled at 46% and are neither chill filtered nor coloured to retain the whisky's natural characteristics.

Today, Glencadam is the only active distillery in the town of Angus. The Barry Burn, which runs off of The Moorans Mountains, provides the water used in the production of Glencandam. The water has been celebrated for being particularly soft, causing the whisky to have a creamy taste. The distillery has a relatively small production capacity of 1.4 million liters. The site also houses a filling & bottling plant, where the official bottlings are performed.  

Glencadam has only one wash still and one spirit still, both with a capacity of 14.000 liters. Both the wash and the spirit still are pear shaped, with wide spherical lids and gradually narrowing necks.  

Glencadam boasts an impressive on-site warehouse facility, consisting of eleven bonded warehouses in which the majority of the Single Malt is aged in ex-Bourbon casks.

Their core range consists of the

• Origin 1825, NAS & 40%
• American Oak Reserve, NAS & 40%
• 10 years old, NCF & NC & 46%
• 15 years old, NCF & NC & 46%
• 18 years old, NCF & NC & 46%
• 25 years old, NCF & NC & 46%

They also have limited releases such as their Small Batch Cask finish range and a 13 years old bottling currently.

Glencadam Reserva PX -Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46%

"Glencadam Reserva PX Single Malt Scotch Whisky has been created in small batches by our Master Distiller, who has carefully selected single malt matured in exceptional American oak ex-bourbon casks from our historic dunnage warehouses. The single malt in these casks has been expertly married then finished in hand selected Pedro Ximénez Sherry butts from Andalucía, Spain."

Pedro Ximenez is a Spanish fortified wine. One of the sweetest wine in the world, containing the most sugar in a liter. This cask leaves heavy influence on whiskies most of the time. 

Nose: Very sweet and fresh (!). It's interesting that it is fresh because PX is a very influental wine cask and usually it supresses all freshness in most whiskies. However Glencadam's strong distillery DNA stands out. Green apples, ripe pears and tropical fruits such as mango. Then the PX shows through. Sweet syrup, blackberry jam and strawberry jam. Oranges, maraschino cherries, figs dates and prunes. Lots of milk chocolate and forest fruits. In my opinion this is a very nice and complex nose. I love the fact that the distillery character is present.

Taste: Wow. Very round and syrupy. Sweet, no sign of alcohol whatsoever. Blackcurrants and strawberries. Cherry flavoured Coca-Cola. Orchard fruits dipped in honey. A burst of forest fruits. Raspberry, blackberry and wild strawberry. Oranges, dates and figs with a chocolate coating. A hint of espresso and cinnamon. This is a very sweet experience. It's complex and deep, not one dimensonal thanks to the DNA of the distillery. It shows through in the taste too but it's much more in the background than it is in the nose.

Finish: Long finish, slightly tart. Vanilla, cherries and Campari. Very sweet and silky. Blackcurrants and strawberry are the most prominent notes here. Lovely.

Overall this is a well put together whisky. HOWEVER, I don't recommend this to those who don't like a sweet experience. It might be too sweet to some people. I firmly believe that this whisky retains the distillery DNA of Glencadam quite well and that this is not a young whisky, rather it's a blend of older and younger whiskies hence it's a no age statement bottle. I would recommend this to those who have a sweet tooth. I rate this an easy 86 / 100.

Glencadam Reserva de Porto Tawny -Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46%

"Glencadam Reserva de Porto Tawny Single Malt Scotch Whisky has been created in small batches by our Master Distiller, who has carefully selected single malt matured in exceptional American oak ex-bourbon casks from our historic dunnage warehouses. The single malt in these casks has been expertly married then finished in hand selected Tawny Port barriques sourced from Portugal."

Tawny ports are wines usually made from red grapes that are aged in wooden barrels exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation. As a result of this oxidation, they mellow to a golden-brown color. The exposure to oxygen imparts "nutty" flavours to the wine, which is blended to match the house style. They are sweet or medium dry and typically consumed as a dessert wine, but can also pair with a main course. 

Nose: Lots of vanilla, caramel and toasted oak. A little cinnamon and allspice. The distillery DNA is here in the form of fresh orchard fruits. Redcurrants, strawberries and juicy red grapes. Raisins and figs. Oranges dipped in dark chocolate. Lovely sweet nose.

Taste: Creamy, sweet and balanced. Vanilla, caramell and dry oakiness followed by ripe red apples, juicy pears and spiciness. Cinnamon and allspice. Very strong notes of strawberries and raspberries. Dried fruits such as figs and dates. Raisins and oranges dipped in dark & milk chocolate creating a nice balance between sweet & bitter. It's a nice and complex whisky.

Finish: Long finish. Very sweet but also has bitter and dry notes. Balanced. Sweet red fruits with oak and vanilla. The taste lingers for minutes, you are not urged by the whisky to drink more and more and more. You can savor it at a slower pace.

Overall this whisky is very nice. Maybe it's a bit less sweet as the PX so this might please more people. However port finishes has a drier oak note than sherry finishes so that might not be liked by so many. I love it. I love port finishes, in fact it's my favourite maturation / finish in whisky. I rate this 87 / 100.

HOWEVER EXLAIMER HERE!

This whisky is very cloudy from the get-go. You can also see small particles from the cask. This shows that this whisky is truly not filtered which is awesome. For some people this might be a problem, for me not so much. I think it's great to get whiskies in the most natural way possible.

BUT there is a slight problem with this whisky. Happened to a few people in my community, not just to me. The first 6 dl of the whisky is flawless. However if you leave the last part of the whisky in the bottle for a few days it turns brown and it loses all it's taste. I have never experienced anything like this before. Maybe it is a problem with the batch. Cask issue or whatever. I have no clue, nor my friends or even the experts I asked. So if you buy this whisky, plan to drink it as soon as possible after opening. Don't leave it around, because this might happen to you too.

I hope Glencadam investigates this issue and comes out with a new batch for us to enjoy!

I found an app that I used backed in the day called Prisma. I used to edit a few of my pictures to look more like a painting or drawing. Thanks to Single Malt Russel for reminding me what this app is. Check his INSTAGRAM HERE. Let me show you 2 pictures from today's whiskies. I think they look awesome, what do you guys think?

All the pictures you see in this article are TAKEN AND OWNED BY ME.

Follow me on Instagram for more pictures and stories, and to get notified of my new articles, content there as soon as possible. HERE.

Check out the points on all the whiskies I've rated and ranked head-to-head over HERE.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.