Official NAS Releases | 46% ABV

Give me strength, but perhaps not cask strength

Recently I’ve been finding myself drawn towards lower ABV whiskies and slightly less cask strength pours. Maybe the warmer summer months have a bearing on this but when I sit down to relax I don’t always want a cask strength whisky fighting for my attention, and I don’t necessarily want to get the water out to find the right balance.

My shelves contain a lot of single cask independent releases and special releases at similarly high strengths from the distilleries themselves. I’ve therefore been feeling the need to add more variety in the grab it, pour it, drink it realm of whiskies, that require no effort with the teaspoon or pipette. 46-50% ABV seems to be a sweet spot that requires little tinkering but still delivers plenty of flavour.

The reason for this imbalance is I find the variety of interesting single casks we’re lucky to have in the UK from independent bottlers both hard to ignore and hard to resist. Problem is they’re usually bottled at either cask strength or a higher strength. They’re great and I wouldn’t want to be without them but I need more lower strength drams on hand.

I read Arthur’s recent piece regarding higher strength whiskies with interest and agree a number of cask strength whiskies play better at their natural strength and some are very accessible and easy drinking without dilution. However, by and large, the alcoholic strength tends to hit the senses harder. They also make me feel inebriated faster which isn’t an effect I want if I’m having a couple of drams at home. I’m acutely aware there will be a toddler requiring my full attention come dawn. OK, I could pour less and add more water but we are back to tinkering again.

I jump online and scroll through the list of available whiskies from a number of retailers that fit the brief. This is one of my favourite pastimes when I have cash in the whisky budget. I spend an inordinate amount of time conducting the search, like a lion stalking its prey until it finds the right time to pounce. I’ve been burned too many times, so I try to make sure every bottle I buy is worthwhile.

One thing I noticed during this search is I’ve tried a lot of them already. Not a problem, I could happily pick up another bottle of Arran 10 or Inchmurrin 12, but it’s nice to try new things. I noticed Glencadam had released a new Pedro Ximenez-finished whisky called Reserva PX. Not my usual go-to style, but I have a soft spot for the distillery. I also saw the oloroso finished Reserva Andalucia which I’ve intended to try for some time. A comparison was on my mind immediately.

When it comes to Glencadam there aren’t many more drinkable whiskies out there than their range of 46% bottles offer. They stand up to fine analysis if you want to, but they’re such easy drinking, vibrant, fruity whiskies that suit casual drinking really well.

The age-stated core range matured entirely in first-fill and refill bourbon casks has up until this point been the only Glencadam I’ve been drinking. When you describe your core range 10 year old on the label as being ‘The Rather Delicate’, it does make me wonder how well the spirit will hold up to the introduction of sherry or other wine casks. Will any of what makes Glencadam what it is be left in the liquid or will we just get the sherry? They’re both fairly dark in colour especially the PX, which would suggest pretty active casks.

I’m apprehensive but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to find out and thankfully the cost of discovery is favourable, with the Reserva Andalucia, which I think has been around for a couple of years widely available for £40 in the UK. The newly released Reserva PX is around the same price.

With Angus Dundee pitching the new Glencadam 18 at a super disappointing £135, which seems to be a reaction to the market and charging what they think they can rather than what they should, these are the bottles I’m going to be looking at to get my Glencadam fix in future. I can buy both of these, plus the excellent 10 year old and still have change in my pocket.

Both are non-age statement but they’re 46% ABV, non-chill filtered and natural colour. Glencadam have also released, or are releasing several other non-age statement whiskies along a similar theme of wine cask finishes. There’s a Reserve de Bordeaux from Merlot wine casks, Reserve de Burgundy from Pinot Noir, along with Reserva De Porto Tawny and Reserva De Porto Branco, which I think explain themselves.

Review 1/2

Glencadam Reserva PX, NAS, NCF & Natural Colour (stated), 46% ABV
£40.50 Readily available at time of writing.

Nose

Rich toffee, molasses, espresso and black cherry blossom leather polish. What’s remarkable is the confectionary orchard fruit apple and pear drops I get from the bourbon cask Glencadam is intact, along with blackcurrants, raisins and figs from the cask. There’s also a dry earthiness in the background.

Palate

Super juicy and mouth watering. It reminds me of apple and blackcurrant cordial with hardly any dilution and flat cherry cola. Then comes those darker notes of coffee, bitter chocolate, leather, raisin, along with slight gingery heat, vanilla and hazelnut. It’s got plenty of sweetness but not as sweet as some PX’s can be and those darker, more bitter flavours compliment it nicely. It remains fruity into the finish with the red fruits most notable. The ginger persists, along with creamy vanilla, tobacco and oak.

Review 2/2

Glencadam Reserva Aldalucia, NAS, NCF & Natural Colour (stated), 46% ABV
£40 Readily available at time of writing.

Nose

Rich, buttery toffee with polished mahogany, dried fruits, orange peel, clove and freshly-washed linen. There’s those confectionery orchard fruits again, with raspberry and grapes, but the fruitiness is dialled down and there is a little less going on compared to the PX, but still a good nose.

Palate

A fruity, bittersweet palate. More of the orchard fruits from the nose and again it’s wrapped in toffee, along with blackcurrant, and a pleasant gingery fizz on the tongue which I really like. Next comes bitter wood char, dark roast coffee, bitter chocolate, sultana, a little peppery spice and some vanilla as the bitterness starts to relent slightly. The bitter notes continue into the drying finish, with a lingering taste of charred oak and dark chocolate on the mid-palate.

The Dregs

It’s natural to imagine the Glencadam spirit might be left behind but it’s coming through loud and clear, with the confectionery orchard fruits showing themselves plentifully in both, but especially with the PX, which I didn’t expect. I predicted a big, bold sherry overcoat that the spirit wouldn’t penetrate.

The PX finish is the one the lovers of the big, bold sherry experience are going to be drawn towards, and for the price I can’t see it being anything but a massive hit. In fact, it appears to have sold out with a number of retailers in no time at all. I’d argue there is little, if anything, bringing such bold sherry flavours to the market at the price point.

It’s a must buy for anybody who enjoys the style and I’ll be picking up another bottle. It’s labelled as being small batch, but if it remains available, or is replenished with another outturn of equal quality, it will be a regularly replaced bottle on my shelves. I may have even been a touch conservative with a 7/10, such is the level of flavour, when factoring in this is around £40 a bottle, but best not to get too carried away and I think the score is fair. I say my favourite style is ex-bourbon but I’m a big phoney at the end of the day who laps up the sherried drams when they’re done well.

The Reserva Andalucia is a little quieter and is much more bitter and drying on the palate, but it’s a pleasant bitterness and I am still enjoying every glass I’ve poured. If you really don’t like your sherried drams sweet, then this might be more up your alley.

Both are well worth your time, but for me, the PX is the star of the show.

Score: 6/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. RT

Other opinions on this:

Whiskybase - Reserva PX

Whiskybase - Reserva Andalucia

GWhisky - Reserva Andalucia (video)

Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.