A well-balanced, gentle single malt from Speyside. Cardhu 12 is a very well put together malt.
Good body, decent sweetness, richness. Streaks of smoke, apple peels, bruised pears.
Smooth, rounded, gentle sweetness, soft peat. A little smoke whispers sweet nothings.
Long, dry smoke, malty touch of peat.
This was my first ever aged single malt which was bought for me as a gift, having always been a bourbon drinker. I loved it and the next whisky I bought was a Laphroaig 10, from there i've tried almost every expression of Islay and rarely dipped back into anything else. I thought for a change I'd try a bit of nostalgia and picked up a bottle of this. To be honest its easy to see how i fell into Islays. Its's lovely and sweet which most Islays lack, its a great alternative bottle along with and Aberfeldy 10 for an Islay lovers drinks cabinet.
This whiskey is smooth with a little hint of honey sweetness but a somewhat acidic finish which made it a little sweet and sour. Perhaps some will like that but for the same money I would opt for the brilliant Balvenie DoubleWood 12 which offers a similar flavour profile but truly almost melts in your mouth. Same price.
If you are a beginner who wants to pick a single malt to start with, this might be the best choice at a very reasonable price. Very balanced, you can easily recognize its tastes. Also not a bad one for sophisticated drinkers.
Very drinkable and easy althought the complexity is closed to "zero". The price range is good and you have what you deserve for this amount of money. I will not buy again, there is really nothing special about it. A kind of Glenfiddish or Craggenmore Whisky.
Didn't read the reviews before trying. Caught the sweetness but couldn't put anything in my mind. I covered one nostril and nosed it with the other. Pears, zappel, came to my mind. The finish is slightly smokey and yes, could also taste a bit of peat. But I did drink this right after the Lagavulin 16, so...
