Cadenhead’s is a Campbeltown-based independent bottler that has been around for nearly two hundred years.  Today it is closely associated with the Springbank Distillery as the bottler was purchased by distillery owner J&A Michell & Co. in the 1970s when Cadenhead’s was forced by lenders to sell off its entire stock. According to David Stirk, J&A Mitchell was interested in the then depleted bottler as it was still sitting on a handsome stock of glass bottles during a period of chronic shortages.

This Glen Garioch came along much later. Like a lot of these younger releases, including multiple sibling casks to this, it was finished in wine or sherry for the last 2-3 years of its maturation. This is not really my style, but I am always game to try something new.

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Whisky: Glen Garioch 9 Year (2012), Cadenhead’s

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 59.3%

Cask: Tawny Port Finish (3Y)

Age: 9 Years (Distilled 2012, Bottled 2021)

Notes: Big jammy, stewed fruits and white chocolate warned my senses of a sugary overload. The aroma was bright with youthful, peppery spirit and a bit of Sharpie marker. I imagined stone fruits and sour cherries with cottage cheese and a fountain of liquid white chocolate. Full-bodied and hefty on the palate, the whisky was youthful and spirited with some gentle prickle, though a few drops of water tamed the heat easily. The flavor profile was full of concentrated fruits, white chocolate, and a bit of new shoe— a sort of plastic, chemical, and sometimes Sharpie marker quality that occasionally turned toward new rubber eraser. A bit of bitterness lingered toward the end, like orange pith and clove oil, with dry cinnamon bark and plenty of jammy currants and cassis— with water more sour cherry and caramel. The finish was long with concentrated fruits, drying tannins, and a bit of bitter quinine.

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Score: 5-6 (74)

Mental Image: Plastic Fruit Factory

Conclusion: This was not to my taste— it was sweet, chemical, and a bit bitter on the back end. For those in search of a loud cask with a touch of sulfur, then this fit the bill. The tawny port cask felt as though it had taken over and wrestled the young malt into submission. The whisky was undeniably young and spirited, though not necessarily unpleasantly so… it was just hard to draw the line between whether that youth gave it vibrancy or a bit too much fight when the cask was swirling about and demanding attention.  Overall, these loud finishes are just not typically to my taste so your mileage may vary.