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.
It is a very commercial, easy-drinking scotch. Bought it on sale for $59.99 CAD so no complain. Peach, honey, heather, peanuts, wood (oak/sherry); weak finishing; no smoke, no peat. If I were a newbie, I would give this a 5-star (and it still deserve a 4 star from a veteran) After some years in scotch, I would say this doesn't do it for me anymore (just like the Highland Park 12 yr). There are better value-options e.g. JW Black Label 1.75L always on sale before Christmas, or more exciting prospects Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 yr, Auchentoshan Valinch, Nikka from the Barrel etc... To me, I felt like drinking another scotch from the old man's cabinet which the taste we are all too familiar.
Quite nice, but a bit too sweet for my taste. Very dominant honey and malt. Not very complex.
This was recommended by an old friend, who was responsible for my taste for Scotch. I like gentle single malts, just a whisp of smoke, or peat. over the years I have tried a load of brands, ages, distillery locations, etc. I find that aging, price, brand, distillery locations don't matter, its whats in my glass and mouth. I have enjoyed Glenlivet and Glenfiddick, especially their reserves and 15 year olds. I do have to say that my daily goto is Islay Mist. Very inexpensive and surprisingly pleasant, especially for an 8 year. But when I have the extra $$, Cardhu will be getting it.
Very Smooth for a single malt. Wonderful drink with nice after taste. I feel it is the best single malt I have ever tasted.
Even after receiving a pretty extensive education in Scotch I never found one I felt like having more than a single shot of. They were nice and I appreciated them very much but none of them ever struck me as something I wanted to drink over the course of an entire evening. The first time I sat with my Scotch educator and a bottle of Cardhu it was gone in a few hours - hitting it straight up. After every sip my mouth just seems to want to have another. As a result, it's really hard for me to keep a bottle of this around.
