Glencadam 13 "The Reawakening" - Review

Glencadam 13 "The Reawakening" Review

750ml bottle, 46% abv, Un-Chilled Filtered, No Added Colouring.

Those astute and sharp eyed of you may have noticed something odd about the above statistics.

Let me give you a clue. I bought two bottles, the Glencadam 13 and a Craigellachie 13, (just a coincidence they were both 13 Years-Old, although it is weird) in the same city.

Now, here are what seems to be two identical bottles of Craigellachie. The one on the right I bought here in Israel. The new one is on the left. What’s the difference?

No? Still don’t see? OK, here’s a close up:

Yup, the one on the right is 70cl which is the standard volume in the UK and Israel. But this Glencadam 13, along with a new bottle of Craigellachie 13 were both bought in the heart of Jewish Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, in the U.S. of A.

In America, where (as everyone knows), everything is bigger, including the sky scrapers and food portions, you get an extra 50ml of volume in your bottle of whisky!

Despite Supertramp bemoaning the fact the they could not find kippers for breakfast in a Brooklyn diner, they should have headed instead for Crown Heights where, in a Kosher Diner, I saw a wide selection of delicious looking smoked fish on offer, including Mackerel, Herring (aka Kippers), Poached Salmon and Smoked Salmon, which they call colloquially “Lox”, after the Yiddish word for Salmon, that is “Laks”.

The Loks Restaurant in the Jewish Memorial Museum, Manhattan.

So, what was I, in the middle of the Covid pandemic, doing in Crown Heights for 5 days?

Rabbi Lavi's Shul, where we davened in the morning.
Even though we were there for only 4 days, they made us feel very welcome.

Eber's Kosher Wine Store on Kingston Avenue, where I bought the Glencadam 13

I was extremely honoured to have been invited by a well-known Kashrus organisation (I can’t be any more specific, OK?), to be the main guest speaker at a conference to discuss the issue of whether the kosher status of Scotch Whisky has changed over the last few decades. (I know, my pet subject!)

I had brought with in my suitcase, tiny samples of kosher Port, Sherry and four different Single Malt Whiskies, in order to demonstrate how the flavour of the wine/sherry/port is transferred into the whisky. My presentation consisted on explaining how Sherry casks usage and practice in the Scottish Whisky Industry has dramatically changed in the past 40 years, and how, perhaps it was time for a reassessment of the kosher status of, specifically Single Malt Whisky matured in First-Fill Sherry Casks.

I cannot say much more about the conference except to say that it was hard work but really enjoyable. I think Baruch Hashem, it was a [VERY] productive visit.

Before I leave this subject, I’d just like to say how very grateful I am to the organisation who invited me and paid for my ticket, food and accommodation. They gave me the opportunity to discuss this important issue with them and granted me access to some very important Rabbonim, who listened to the evidence I presented to them regarding what is really going on in the Scottish Whisky Industry. During these meetings I tried to break many of the myths and “Bubbe Meises” (“Sipurei Safta”), that persist and continue to permeate the halachic world when it comes to this subject. 

Glencadam 13 "The Reawakening". 750ml. Bottled at 46% abv

Price: $65

Non Chill-Filtered.

Natural Colour [Printed boldly and proudly on the front]

Kashrus: OU Certification, printed on the back.

Batch 2, Bottle No. 1733 of 3,000. (Presumably this is 3,000 of those bottles sent to the USA in 750ml bottles. The other 3,000 were sold throughout the rest of the world in 70cl bottles).

Interesting that on the UK Release, (see below) the OU Certification is printed on the can and the back label. Yet on this US edition, imported by Royal Wine Corp, the OU is not on the can but is printed on their import sticker.

Why the name “Reawakening”?

When researching for his now famous whisky book, “The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom”, Alfred Barnard visited Glencadam in 1886. Skimming through the meagre half a page which he dedicates to it, it seems as if he struggled to write anything of interest about this distillery. Nothing really changed for the next 100 years. I could have said that Glencadam was well and truly off of everyone’s RADAR for all this time, had it not been for the fact that RADAR was only invented and developed (Baruch Hashem, just in time for the Battle of Britain), in the 1930s. 

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/history-of-the-battle-of-britain/radar-the-battle-winner/

Radar tipped the balance during the Battle of Britain

In 1987, Glencadam distillery was bought by Allied Lyons, (of Lyons Tea rooms fame), a company which I have spoken about before, (See my Ardmore 20 review). Allied Lyons (a merger of Allied Catering and Allied Brewers and Distillers), merged with Spanish Drinks and Spirits (mainly Sherry) company Pedro Domecq to form Allied Domecq in 1994. Glencadam distillery, as was often the case, was not well looked after. It was, like so many Malt distilleries, considered one of the anonymous and ubiquitous workhorses of the Blended Whisky business. The years of neglect began to take its toll and in 2000, ironically just at the beginning of the present whisky boom, it was mothballed, its future very uncertain.

Who, in the little town of Brechin, where the distillery grounds lay silent, hidden between a graveyard and a public park, would have known that their distillery was about to become one of the superstars of the Single Malt Whisky world?

In 2003, Glencadam was bought by family run, independent company Angus Dundee, owner of Tomintoul distillery. They release a 15-Year-Old Single Malt in 2005. Matured from old stocks of Ex-Bourbon barrels and hogsheads from the previous owners, destined to be one of many nameless filler malts in some Blended Whisky, instead, the whisky was given a new lease of life and ended up being bottled as Single Malt Whisky.  Released at the minimum 40% abv, chill filtered and heavily coloured, (the whisky looked a rusty brown), it didn’t exactly set the world on fire.

Then, in 2008, a momentous decision was made to shake things up a bit and re-release the 15 Year-Old as an integrity bottling for purists. Apparently, they were hoping to tap into a new and steadily growing sector in the whisky market. Now bottled at a very respectable 46% abv, proudly stating on the front label that it was Un-Chill Filtered (before almost anyone even knew what that meant) and with its new all natural bright yellow colour revealing the pedigree of the casks used, (that is, American Ex-Bourbon barrels). This proved to be a very smart move. Obviously Glencadam could not compete with the mass market “Pile em high, Sell em low” Glenlivets and Glenfiddichs, so they aimed their whisky at a rapidly growing market that had previously been almost completely ignored - The Whisky Geek market.

The 15 Year-Old was quickly followed up with the addition of a new, more spirit driven, fresh tasting 10-Year-Old, as well as a new 21-Year-Old. Under the watchful eye and, professional skill and love of distillery manager Douglas Fitchett, who made sure that cask and spirit quality was kept to the highest, Glencadam Single Malt whisky soon became recognised as producing some of the best quality and tastiest drams in the Highlands.

Everything seemed to be going really well and it was “full steam ahead”. The owners were however, very much aware that there was an iceberg of a problem quickly approaching; and it could not be avoided. This was the three-year gap in matured whisky between the end of the old stock from 2000 and the beginning of the new, when they re-commenced distilling in 2003.

So, in 2015, just as the 15-Year-Old had dafka started to win multiple awards, Glencadam found themselves in the uncomfortable position where they had run out of 15-Year-Old stock to bottle. So it was that the 15-Year-Old was temporarily discontinued. Ironically in 2016, Ralfy made the Glencadam “15” his Whisky of the year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud0nDqScVVc

Overnight, prices in the UK and US shot up as fans frantically searched online, scrambling to find the last few bottles.

The 10-Year-Old continued but it was rumoured that there was actually older matured stock in the bottle, despite a company decision to continue calling it the 10-Year-Old.

The 13-Year-Old release

In 2016, Glencadam made the decision to produce a limited release bottling made up entirely of spirit produced after 2003 in order to celebrate the new Angus Dundee era. They called it the 13-Year-Old “Reawakening”. 6,000 bottles were produced in the style of the 15-Year-Old, only two years younger. It became an immediate success and quickly sold out. So in 2017, they decided to issue a second batch of 6,000 bottles. However, as Brand Ambassador Iain Forteath explains, when they started bottling, they came up short by six bottles and only produced 5994 bottles. (That’s the official story anyway. I wouldn’t be surprised if these “lost” six bottles magically turned up at some point). They called this edition the “Reawakening – Batch 2”. It is this expression which I am reviewing today.

By the time you read this, Batch 2 will be pretty much unobtainable but there is a Batch 3 available in some markets. Released in 2019, Batch 3 also, (purely coincidently you understand), also magically produced 5994 bottles instead of the 6,000 they were aiming for.

Iain informed me that they are currently working on a Fourth batch of 13-Year-Old, but that might well be that, as the 15-Year-Old is now back again and they are able to produce it in good quantities.

Packaging

The packaging design is exactly the same as the other products in their line-up, except that instead of being just another elemental colour, the canister and label are a beautiful shiny gold. Quite often, the use of gold on whisky cans and labels looks really kitschy and actually has the opposite intended marketing affect and ends up cheapening the product. Not so here. The gold really looks classy and special. The other difference is of course, that being a Limited Edition, they have added "Bottle No. XXXX of 3,000" to the label. This is so much nicer than the 1/3000 we have seen in the past. It makes your bottle unique and special.

It is just wonderful to see the words “UNCHILLFILTERED” and underneath it, “NO ADDED COLOURING” in bold large letters on the front. Such a simple thing to do, why can’t others do the same? Why do you have to send distilleries emails or WhatsApps to confirm that such and such release is natural colour? Just state it on the label! I don’t understand what the big deal is? (Are you listening Signatory, Deanston, Tullibardine and many others?)

Appearance

Bright, sparkling Chardonnay / golden barley yellow. Clearly showing for all to see that this is a natural colour integrity bottling, matured exclusively in Ex-Bourbon cask.

Swirling the whisky around in the glass produces lovely waves of thick oily liquid. Globules of golden spirit stick to the inside of the glass.

Nosing

Glencadam are proud of the fact that none of their single malts are peated. Consequently, after adding just a few drops of water, you get a very clean nose of lively and crisp green fruit like Cantaloupe, Green Apples and even Kiwi. Then, some yellow fruits kick in like Creamy Banana, Honey-Dew Melon, accompanied by freshly baked yeasty bread notes. However, for me, the most prominent aroma was that a delightful sweet smell of confectionary seaside honeycomb candy. Underneath there is mild creamy honey and dry oak. Oh, what a great nose on this. I spent at least 15 minutes just nosing this, it was so delightful.

With the 10-Year-Old you get fresh green feisty young, yeasty and spirit driven flavours. The 15-Year-Old is all about rich orange fruits and heavy Oak spices. The 13-Year-Old sits somewhere in between these two. You still have the young freshness of the 10 coming through but those extra three years of maturation have removed what little spirit harshness was there and has transformed this 13 YO into something more complex and interesting.

Tasting

Yummy! Scrumptious malty flavours combined with Sea-Side Honeycomb candy and honey. Yes, whisky is a liquid but I could almost feel the honeycomb candy melting in the mouth with its chewy brittle golden syrup toffee texture. There are nutty elements to this too, like blanched almonds dipped in brown sugar. You get a combination of wet Yeasty Sweetcakes, sweet malty grains, soft tannins like a well-aged Chardonnay white wine. Creamy Banana, Melon, Kiwi, Golden Apples, perhaps a touch of cooked grapefruit, but definitely fresh Apricots there, juicy Peaches and Honey, all served up in a wooden bowl.

Finish

Big cocktail fruity flavours, honeycomb toffee, creamy banana, toffee almonds and mild ginger on the delicious and surprisingly long finish.

Conclusions

I am really enjoying my time with this bottle and am frustrated that I probably will not be able to obtain another bottle any time soon, as they do not export this beauty into Israel. That’s a real shame. Consequently, I think I will just have to make room in my suitcase for another bottle of Glencadam 13, even if it is a 70cl bottle, the next time I visit the UK.

You know, just as you think you have come across every variation of Ex-Bourbon Single Malt, something really special comes along. It only goes to show that you can produce a unique, complex and completely different take on a 100% Ex-Bourbon matured Single Malt. They don’t all have to smell and taste like Caramel Fudge, Icing Sugar, Apples, Pears and Honey. As far as the Ex-Bourbon matured Scotch Single Malt category is concerned, this Glencadam 13 is a real “Reawakening”! (Was that too schmaltzy?)

Kol HaKavod (Well Done !!!) to Glencadam distillery.

Even though, as I have already explained, the 13-Year-Old was originally released as a stock-gap for the 15-Year-Old, its ability to portray the young freshness of the 10 and the flavour complexity of the 15, justifies, (in my opinion), its continued production, even as an annual Limited Edition.

Just an idea to anyone at Angus Dundee who is reading; how about perhaps releasing this as a Cask Strength Glencadam? Now that would really be something special!