Cardhu 12 Year

Zacht whisky, altijd goed

Honey on the nose, light viscosity, no char, easy everyday sipper.

One of the least interesting malts of Scotland. It's no surprise that the bulk of this stuff ends up in Johnnie Walker given how nondescript and middle-of-the-road it is. Tart nose, with sour apples, sharp oak, and some intense floral notes. Slight smoke, lemon zest, alcohol bite even at 40% ABV, honey, grass, and hay. Thin taste that's initially quite sweet (apples, vanilla), with more smoke than expected. Then some real bite. Citrus tang? Pepper? Herbal notes, maybe something planty or floral. Short, dry finish. A real "meh" for me: it's decently well-rounded, and more floral than some of those better known, fruitier Speysides, but it's shockingly overpriced. Truth be told, about the most interesting thing about Cardhu is tracing the effect it has on the Johnnie Walker line-up (I always thought the smoke of JW Black was all Talisker, but it actually seems like Cardhu is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here).