Cardhu Gold Reserve Cask Selection Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 40%

There is no age on the label, and that is deliberate. Gold Reserve is about what toasted wood does to Cardhu's honey, not about how many winters have passed.

Expert description

Cardhu Gold Reserve Cask Selection is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in toasted oak casks and bottled at 40%.

The casks were chosen for their toast rather than their age. Toasted oak draws out caramel and baked fruit, and that is exactly what lifts Cardhu's pale, honeyed core into something deeper. The result is a malt with more dark chocolate and ripe orchard fruit than the 12 year old, but with the same soft mouthfeel. Without an age statement the distillery is free to pick casks by flavour rather than by calendar.

Tasting notes

Nose

Baked apple and honey first, then caramel and a warm, toasted note from the wood. A light floral sweetness sits behind.

Palate

Soft and round. Caramel, ripe pear, honey and a touch of dark chocolate. The toast brings a dry warmth towards the end that keeps the sweetness from turning dull.

Finish

Short to medium, soft and lightly spiced, with cocoa and malt at the close.

Specifications

Name: Cardhu Gold Reserve Cask Selection Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70 cl 40%
Distillery: Cardhu
Region/Country: Speyside Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Toasted oak casks
Edition: Gold Reserve Cask Selection
EAN no.: 5000267125497

Flavour profile

Soft · Caramel · Fruity · Honeyed · Unpeated

Did you know?

Toasting and charring are not the same thing. A toasted cask is heated slowly so the sugars in the wood caramelise, while a charred cask gets a blackened layer inside. Cardhu uses toasting to pull out sweetness rather than smoke.

See our full range of Cardhu Whisky

Frequently asked questions about Cardhu Gold Reserve

Why is there no age statement?

Because the selection is made on cask character rather than years. The whisky contains casks of different ages, and an age statement could only show the youngest anyway. In return the blender is free to chase a particular flavour.

How does it compare to Cardhu 12 years?

Deeper and more caramel-sweet. The toasted casks give dark chocolate and baked fruit, where the 12 year old is paler and more floral. The mouthfeel is the same softness that marks the distillery.

Is it peated?

No. Cardhu uses no peated malt, so there is no smoke at all. The warm, almost toasted note comes from the wood, not from the barley.

Does it work in cocktails?

It works well in a Rob Roy or a whisky highball, where the caramel sweetness has room to show. Neat, use a tulip glass and let it sit for a couple of minutes first.

Is it a good gift for an occasional whisky drinker?

Yes. It is soft, sweet and without hard edges, and the bottle looks more serious than the whisky is demanding. For a more experienced palate, look through our range of Speyside Whisky.

What is a cask selection?

A bottling where casks are hand-picked for a specific purpose rather than simply following an age. Here it is toasted oak casks, chosen to draw caramel and fruit out of Cardhu's pale spirit.