Cardhu 12 Year Old

Delicate, Juicy, Oak, Vanilla
2022-11-06

Until 1983, the distillery was called Cardow, named after a nearby village. Nowadays known as Cardhu (Gaelic: Black Rock), the distillery produces the significant share for the Johnnie Walker blends. Of course, there are also their own bottlings, of which we have the 12-year-old standard bottling in the glass today.
The Cardhu 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky belongs to the Classic Malts of Scotland and is supposed to represent the character of the Speyside region of Scotland.

Smell

On the nose, the whisky brings the classic notes of a Speysider: Vanilla, caramel, apple and honey are dominant, while some nutty flavours lie in the background.

Taste

We taste very old, very old oatmeal biscuits, which make us think of the Kinder Country commercial from the 90s. Woody, bitter notes resonate. Slowly and viscously, a little caramel can be perceived and, with a little imagination, hazelnuts can also be found. We don't find the fruitiness from the nose.

Finish

Slightly bitter, slightly woody and with something strange on the palate, the single malt finishes with some warming spiciness.

Thoughts

Somehow boring. Obviously, the nose is classic Speyside, but the taste and the finish are more like a soup of aromas that has been put through a blender. For the price, we find better and one could almost say that instead of the Cardhu 12, one could also reach for the Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Year Old.

Rating: 60/100 - Good (Marcel: 56 | Sascha: 64)

Value for Money: 3/5 - Acceptable

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Preview Image Source: The Whisky Exchange

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