When travelling to Italy, I promised my sister in law that I would bring the whisky, only to realise upon arrival that I had completely forgotten them. Since she usually doesn’t like peaty whisky, I decided to sneakily purchase a non smokey dram from my ‘to try’ list, that wasn’t all too expensive. The Cardhu fitted the bill well. The Cardhu Gold Reserve isn’t bad. It’s a bit sharp on the nose though and it really needs a while to loose its punch. After some breath it reveals some apple, toffee and a hint of honey, but still tastes a bit sharp. I read a lot of very positive reviews, and saw some relative high rates, but for me it scores a solid two and a half, perhaps three, stars. Not bad at all, but not an instant favourite.