Glencadam Triple Wood 17 year old Portwood Finish (my, that's a mouthful before we've had a mouthful) was released in 2015 as a limited edition from the distillery. 1128 bottles were produced of unchillfiltered, naturally coloured whisky which was matured in bourbon casks, then finished in port wood. It's bottled, like most of Glencadam's range at 46% and has the nickname on the bottle of 'The Rather Exquisite'.
Nose: The slightly pink hue of the dram comes across in the nose – strawberries, red berries and some tart rhubarb. There’s some real spirit character here – it’s lively, herbal and slightly steely. Cask influence is already present with gentle peppery spicing.
Taste: Lively sweet and spicy. Red fruits continue and provide satisfying sweetness - these are bolstered by deeper malts and citrus sharpness. Spicy and char really amp up the delivery and development of this whisky with black pepper, nutmeg, toasted oak and light cask-driven smoke. There’s a nice level of floral/herbalness running through her – quite estery.
Finish: Medium long, spicy fruits and a final burst of salinity.
There’s quite a lot going on with this Glencadam. The nose is rather different to the taste - the former favouring spirit-driven red fruits, the latter showing a lot more cask influenced character. I found that a drop of water provided a touch more balance across the palate. Nevertheless, tasty stuff which is worth trying if you can.