Cardhu 12 Year

The nose starts with fresh green apples and brings you to a usual Speyside sniff with honey, vanilla and sweet fruits. If you really dig into this one you might find some nuts and a faint smoke as well. When you take a sip you first experience sweet apricots. Then you get bourbon flavours with vanilla and a beehive full of honey. I personally find Sherry notes and rum raisins as well before a citrus influenced pleasant oaky finish stays for some time before your brains asks for another sip. This bottle really surprised me. It's a smooth and well balanced cheap Speysider. The perfect situation for this dram would be a warm summer night or if you are trying to convince a novice for single malt. I only give three stars as this dram has nothing that really shines in order to make it unforgettable.

КИБ 3099.99

This is surprisingly good. I never heard of Cardhu, despite it being a key Johnnie Walker component. Graciously supplied by Paul as part of our trading team, this is a sheer delight to have. More suited for a warm humid summer night than the dropping fall temperatures. But, heck, I'll take it. Light and fruity, with a touch of green tea. Inoffensive, like a more humble Balvenie. Worthwhile to pick up. Thanks Paul

It’s been a rough few nights at work lately and I need to get back on track with the other guys in our tasting group. So, I randomly grabbed a sample and plopped down on the couch. I poured the Cardhu 12, graciously supplied by Paul, into the Glencairn and leaned back to rest my eyes for a bit. Well, a bit became 35 minutes before I snapped back to life. Gotta give it time to breath, yeah- that’s the ticket... The juice is a wonderful, light gold in color and giving a spin leaves a full sticky oil slick around the entire inside of the taster. I caught a quick whiff of honey and vanilla before I set it back down. The full nosing experience is sort of unremarkable if you’re looking for complexity. It’s a Speysider filled with sweet honey, some tropical fruits and light oak barrel notes. Pleasant, for sure. The palate is all toffee-covered tropical fruit. The oily look in the glass isn’t really present on the tongue, but the vanilla really lingers more than anything else I’ve detected to this point. The 40% ABV doesn’t add any heat and there’s little to no warmth lingering into the finish. I can see why this stuff is used heavily by Johnnie Walker. There is no way anyone can be offended by this malt. It’s fruity and very light. The finish is lightning quick with just more honey sweetness ringing through. It’s a true warm weather malt that would leave you still shivering on a brisk, autumn evening. I can’t find anything wrong with this one. It ticks off all the typical Speyside bullet points and is perfect for chilling with friends and enjoying a whisky session. 3.5-3.75 stars. Thanks again Paul. Solid stuff.

​I was looking for something a little different and Cardhu is what I came up with. This Speysider turns out to be a major component in Johnnie Walker, to the extent that JW bought the distillery outright some time ago. It's now one of Diageo's brands. It was also at the center of a firestorm of controversy back in the 80's when Diageo attempted to address a supply crisis by turning it into a vatted malt and calling it "Pure Malt". The shitstorm that ensued nearly wiped out the distillery. Fortunately Diageo saw the light and restored the brand to a single malt that is available to us today. Cardhu 12 yr. is bottled at a standard 40% ABV. It's a light to medium gold in the glass, which makes me think it is not colored. No statement as to whether or not it's filtered, so I assume it is. It looks thin in the glass and produces thin legs. The nose is very light, which follows the appearance. Light floral and cereal tones, along with light citrus, apples and pears. That's about it. So far, not too impressive. The palate was a little surprising. I found it fairly dry for a Speysider, with a strong peppery/cinnamon spice flavor. Actually kind of reminded me of a rye whiskey at first, which is really strange, but that's what I got. Water brought out some malty flavors. It had a fairly thin mouthfeel. Pretty one dimensional; or maybe I just can't get those light "barely there" notes. Whichever, it was good, but not great. The finish was probably the best part of this dram. Warm, lingering, and reminiscent of dark fruit cake, the finish saves this whisky from being purely mediocre. The odd combination of fruity nose with spicy palate throws it off balance. It would be a good summer whisky; alas, summer is over and I'm looking forward to richer, smokier stuff. And at $55-60, I have a hard time recommending it. It's not bad, but you can get better for your money. 3.75/5.0. Cheers!