Whisky52 Review: Exclusive Glencadam Single Malt

Whisky52, as part of the Wine52 and Beer52 family, is an excellent new whisky club for connoisseurs of single malts, blended malts and every other type of whisky from all over the world. They’ve explored plenty of Scotch, but also take you towards newer whisky regions like Japan and Scandanavia.

Each month you’ll be able to sample new whisky regions and distilleries, from some major names at that. It makes an excellent gift for any whisky lover.

I’ve seen friends with whisky clubs where they go all in and provide you entire bottles. Sounds great, until you realise you have 20 half full bottles with no space to fit any more in your cupboards! Then you have to cancel, pause or skip and watch all the new fantastic bottlings pass you by.

With Whisky52, they keep costs and overloading at bay by giving their members 35cl bottles instead. It’s a much more manageable way of doing a whisky club, and means you won’t feel pressured to finish off each bottle in record time.

The fact that they provide half bottles also means it doesn’t cost nearly as much as some clubs. You get genuinely good whisky at an affordable monthly cost, and it really is worth it for the whiskies I’ve tried from them. One great thing is that the first bottle you get from them is free! You just have to cover the postage.

Glencadam Highland Single Malt Scotch – Whisky52

Glencadam has just turned 200 years old! It is one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries but has been closed to the public for the majority of this time – they’ve only recently opened a brand-new visitor centre to show off what they can do. For much of its history, Glencadam was used as a key blend in many popular blended whiskies, but they have found a growing set of fans who love their single malts, and tasting this whisky will help you see why.

The distillery boasts incredible heritage with many nods to the past such as a working wheel that generates electricity for the distillery, based off the old watermill’s wheel, or a 1922 mill that still grinds every batch.

This faith and love of heritage ties directly into their whisky making philosophy. They only have a short 48-hour fermentation period which goes in the face of the modern chill filtration, resulting in a more traditional whisky with an oily character and fruit-forward notes.

But how is the Whisky52 dram?

Well, you can tell it is made with love. Matured in Bourbon and Burgundy casks from the Cote D’Or used for Pinot Noir show there is no expense spared!

On the nose, this whisky is very fragrant with spiced fruits and bramble notes, showing off their fruit-forward style. These develop into morello cherries, dark chocolate, vanilla, liquorice and a little sweetness.

To taste, it’s equally exceptional. The fruits take on a lovely, stewed nature with strawberry and blackcurrant, that have likely come from the Pinot Noir bariques, and even a little bit of toasted pineapple. It’s whisky, so of course there’s a lovely warming undertone pinned up by baking spices and wood notes. You can really taste the bourbon barrel influence as well, with strong vanilla and creamy undercurrents.

As the palate develops on the finish, it becomes a bit darker in nature with chocolate powder on the end. It’s a warm, long finish with spices, espresso, tobacco and heather brining a nice sweet nip to see you through.