09/04/2021 Glencadam

Glencadam 14yo 1964/1979 (45.7%, Cadenhead): that Glencadam with the Tintin font. Nose: peach jelly, apricot chutney, sprinkled with ground cumin and spread on toasted bagged white bread, eaten outside, whilst wearing oilskins. The jams are simmering gently, with a pinch of herbs to liven them up (sage and thyme). Soon, it has an almost metallic feel, akin to orange drops in tin foil. Far removed, a hint of wormwood settles too, perhaps tree bark and a delicate lick of varnish. Suddenly, all that disappears to make room for a deeper, graver fistful of old copper coins, forgotten in a drawer of the carpenter's workbench. It may whisper calmly, but it still has lots to say, this whisky! Breathing time adds cracked black pepper to the waxy-apricot compote, soothing lichen on stone, brown shoe polish -- it becomes rather talkative, actually, emboldened by the warmth of my hand on the glass, and the contact of air. Mouth: the attack is frankly metallic (it is a Glencadam, after all), loaded with copper coins, a verdigris-eaten copper bed warmer and thyme, paving the way for the inevitable hot peach jam and apricot compote (with sage again). It has some chewy plasticine too, solidified wax or modelling clay, left out to gather dust before it has been modelled. The second sip is as though a mischievous child had dropped a collection of copper coins in a pot full of simmering apricot compote, then run away before the cook added a copious dose of black pepper. The wax is never far, and the herbs become less discernible. Finish: if the nose felt a little ancient and fragile, in the beginning, the finish leaves no doubt that this bottle has not lost anything. The liquid is still unabashedly assertive, dishing out modelling wax, simmering jams, discreet herbs, and the by-now-expected copper coins, perhaps with touches of verdigris on them. All that colludes to leave a mildly bitter taste on the tongue and the roof of the mouth -- nigella seeds, I would say, yet subtle and effaced. If it is nigella seeds, then it is nigella seeds sprinkled on a bowl of strawberry yoghurt. It might even have a tiny dose of crushed spearmint. In any case, the way the sweetness and the bitterness interplay is something to marvel at. Wonderful Glencadam. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)