Spotlight on Cadenhead on Campbeltown Wednesday
Cadenhead’s as an independent bottler originates from Aberdeen, but for decades and decades it has been associated with Campbeltown, its current day base of operations. Indeed, a visit to the capital of Kintyre is not complete with just going to the Glen Scotia or Springbank distilleries, if you do not also go see the shop on Union Street. Gasping at the walls with all these interesting bottlings is just one part of the fun. You can also do a blending session or book a warehouse tasting, which I would always recommend! Read more about the latter here, for instance.
On our monthly Campbeltown Wednesday, we normally feature output from Springbank or Glen Scotia. Taking a look at the sample drawer, I got some examples of Cadenhead expression piling up. So, today we feature some of those, while we still managed to find one Longrow too. Maybe it will seduce you to visit the festival Cadenhead’s in the Courtyard in September!
Tamdhu 17 years old, vintage 2007, bottled at 57,1 % by Cadenhead’s
First things first: This is a 17 years old Tamdhu that was transferred to an oloroso hogshead in 2021. Cadenhead did an extensive re-racking program in those Covid days. In the end, the cask yielded 246 bottles. Bottled in November 2024 as part of the Chairman’s Stock.
Upon Sipping: Dark as Pepsi cherry and it smells a bit like that too. That is the initial whiff. Then it turns towards cinnamon spices and ginger bread. Pressure cooked sherry enhancement but it works like a charm. We know they have excellent sherry wood in Campbeltown and this Tamdhu proves it once more. On the palate, the attack is sweet like a PX on steroids, with soft dades and plums, but towards the finish there is the typical oloroso drying note, more focused on cigar leaves and leather. On repeated sipping it turns more nutty, mingled with mocha. Very generous in offering a broad scala of tastes all within the chocolate range. With water, the taste gets almost dusty, so I do not recommend it here, even though an array of cacao is revealed on the finish.
Word to the Wise: An extremely chiselled and focused sherry maturation works well. The only thing missing is distillery character, but that does not really hurt, since we know Tamdhu mostly for sherried output anyway.
Score: 87 points.
Glentauchers 16 years old, vintage 2008, bottled at 59,6 % abv by Cadenhead’s
First things first: Bottled in the same Chairman’s Stock series as the Tamdhu, so in November 2024, but this is a full maturation by the looks of it. This Glentauchers-Glenlivet spent life in a refill butt, resulting in 630 bottles. As we can see at the strength, it did not suffer much in there.
Upon Sipping: You can notice a distinct difference with the Tamdhu straight away, because this feels more authentic. The whisky and the cask really had time to interact. The soft, gentle side of Glentauchers is still there, but the cask does the heavy lifting. It results in white peaches, apricot and an overall more fruity scent. More balanced and intriguing than the bratty street fighting Tamdhu. Both styles have something going for them, obviously. On the palate, well… you really need to be a high abv masochist to enjoy this neat. It is fierce, even harsh at times, but on the other hand I can still pick up some nuances. Almonds, firstly, and more dried or processed fruits, or peach gummy candy. Not bad at all, but I have lost my appetite for rocket fuel whisky. So, a good splash of water and on we go. Much better, especially on the tongue, where it really delivers on jammy notes. Apricot jam, hints of marzipan, thick honey, really the whole French orchard, with Mirabelle on top.
Word to the Wise: A whisky with many faces once you start playing with water, because you can really finetune it to your liking. Most important for me, is that the Glentauchers spirit stands up to the maturation type. This is a good combination, tied nicely with the Tamdhu.
Score: 87 points.
Longrow 9 years old, vintage 2015, bottled at 56,2 % abv by Cadenhead’s
First things first: This Longrow matured for 9 years in a oloroso hogshead, yielding 318 bottles. A very fresh one, bottled in 2025 in the Authentic Collection. Thanks for sharing, Rowald!
Upon Sipping: A fitting ending to the three sherry influenced whiskies of the today. The Tamdhu was slaughtered by its cask, the Glentauchers put up a good fight, and this Longrow has the peat as a strong defender. Beautiful, dark, full of brine, almost sinister peat. The sherry cask gave this Longrow a very earthen feel to it, dunnage warehouse, meat with truffles, sizzling bacon and then … some Arabian spices and a Sahara town fruit market. Perhaps a hint of gunpowder too, but nothing too extreme. In short: an exciting nosing on this glass of Longrow. Taking a sip, it is the peat that dominates the palate from the start, before some nuance creeps in. Smoky chocolate, one should produce that commercially I think, this Longrow provides an example. Very drinkable without water, but I added some anyway. The smoky character disappears into the background a little, making way for more farmy notes. This seems to fit the Longrow with sherry combination, we have seen it before. Hints of fruit too, maybe some fruit that is past its prime, but still in the bowl on your kitchen table. This continues on the taste, with the same apricots as in the Glentauchers, so I suspect some of these notes are really delivered by the cask, whatever whisky you put in it. Let me tell you this: I love it!
Word to the Wise: Longrow releases by Springbank itself are far and between, but luckily we can look to Cadenhead’s for offering us a gem every now and then. This Longrow has it all: peat, balance, good cask/wood and a great deal of punch. Highly recommended!
Score: 90 points.