The inaugural single malt from the Cardrona Distillery in New Zealand, dubbed Just Hatched, because it was bottled at three years old, just after its turning of age to legally be called a whisky. The whisky matured in a combo of bourbon and sherry casks before bottling at cask strength, a burly 64.4% ABV. Though it's young, this weighty whisky packs some rather complex flavours.
Toasted hot cross bun with butter, grape skin, a hint of cedar, walnut loaf and lemon sponge cake.
Oily almond, raw honey and a floral undertone, with buttery vanilla shortbread, grapefruit freshness and spicy undertones.
Candied fruit and malty cereal.
Wood chip/pine trees on the nose, weird blend of honey and pepper on the tongue with a long, harsh finish. No wonder it was free!
Absolutely love this whisky. The thick, full, sweet mouth feel is such a joy. I’m excited to try more from this distillery
The spirit is too raw to to drink at full strength so having added 50% adiitional water bringing it down to around 48% makes it much more palatable but still a bit raw. It has a honeyed nose with sherbert hints. On the palte it reminded me of barley sugar sweets and floral notes but on the finish the sweetnes dries leaving a bitter ending. A lot going on in here but at the moment it's not balanced and is all over the place. Not good value at this price for a half bottle. An example of a new whisky beeing rushed out to get some income perhaps? I think this needs a longer incubation!
This is only just a whisky, its just 3 years and 1 day old. However, you can already taste the quality of spirit being made deep in the Cardrona Valley along a fence line cast entirely in bras. The family behind Cardrona have gone to great pains to get the process right knowing it will yield results. Stills from Forsythes, High quality barley and of course pure still NZ water. Ok I'll stop I'm sound like an advert. This whisky drinks well beyond its young age. Its got a mouthfeel and balance that belies its high ABV. If this is the start of the journey I can't wait to see what happens 7, 9 or even 15 years down the line
Stunning! Stands up to a drop of water to cool off the high abv (if you're that way inclined). Super chewy with lots of sherry and a beautiful long creamy finish. Incredibly moreish. Lots of honey and shortbread, hints of citrus and vanilla.
