Head-to-head: Balblair 2002 & Glencadam 10

[Alexppp]

I decided to post this here because they're both very satisfying malts with a lot of similarities: 10 years old (the Balblair was bottled in 2012), natural colour, un-chill filtered, and in general with a very natural style and presentation.

Balblair 2002

Colour: Light gold

Nose: Fruity, floral, a bit shy at first. Citrus fruits to the fore. Not particularly expressive, needs water to open up, but when it does it reveals new depths, with vanilla sweetness finally emerging to join the slightly astringent cirtussy and spicy notes.

Palate: Same story as the nose, a bit simple and shy at first, needs a bit of persistence. Again, it's mostly citrus fruits to the fore. Floral too, 'summer meadow' is the first phrase that comes to mind.

Finish: Medium, spicy, floral.

Glencadam 10

Colour: Light gold, a bit darker than the Balblair.

Nose: This is 'sexier' than the Balblair. Malty, lemon zest, vanilla.

Palate: Again, this is more immediately attractive. Like the Balblair, the centre of attention is on citrus fruits, but there's more vanilla, more spices and a certain sugar sweetness (not in a sickly way at all). More first-fill bourbon casks in the mix?

Finish: Medium length, honeyed, spicy.

On this occasion it was the Glencadam that made the better impression. However, given that it was a 50ml sample bottle, I didn't try it with water because I didn't want to risk 'drowning' the only dram I had. On the other hand, I think the Balblair 2002 needs a few drops of water for all its subtleties to emerge. If drunk neat, it's the Glencadam that feels rounder and more satisfying, with the Balblair feeling younger. Water, however, uncovers hidden fruity and subtle depths.

[Quaich1]

Hi Alex. Interesting comparison. I'm pretty partial to the Glencadam 10 myself. I found cotton candy on the nose, sugar and spice on the palate and crushed figs, brown sugar and pralines on the finish. I prefer it neat. Makes a nice dessert dram. I have an unopened bottle of the Glencadam 12 Port Finish I'm saving for a rainy day..

_________________
"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[Alexppp]

It was my first time with Glencadam (well, second dram out of a small sample bottle) and I thought the Balblair 2002 was a good sparring partner since they're both 'clean' whiskies with no hint of sherry or smoke whatsoever.

It was the sugar on the palate of the Glencadam that made all the difference for me so it's interesting that you find similar notes as well. I'd love to try an older Glencadam on this evidence, it'll probably be the 15 year-old.

I think Balblair on the other hand needs a few more years in the cask, pleasant though the young 2002 is.

[opelfruit]

It think these 2 are a great comparrison, they are both a very similar style of whisky at the same age and same type (non filtered etc).

I've not had the 2002 but I have had the 1997 2nd release, so it's a bit older at 15 years, and that was incredible. Maybe the extra 3 years really did help it.

In terms of the Glencadam I got the same stuff as you, very citrusy (lemon drops) and a good amount of crisp barley. Very good casks used and well put together. I specifically bought it as summer time whisky due to it's lightness and fruit and I've really enjoyed having it on hot days over summer.

I'm definately going to explore more of the Glencadam range now, the price point on their whiskies is very good and the quality seems high.
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[Alexppp]

[Alexppp]

A year later I decided to revisit these two bottles side by side. Both are regulars of mine, and among my very favourite 'naked' malts - no peat, no sherry, no over-active oak, just top quality distillate doing the talking.

On this occasion it was the Balblair that came out on top. The Glencadam arguably has the more approachable nose with its rounded sweetness and sugar notes, but this time I found the Balblair more complex and rich when it came to the palate and finish. Last year I kept writing that it was pretty simple compared to the more rounder Glencadam - well, this time I found more depth in the Balblair. Does that reflect change over time in the bottle, change in the way I perceived the flavours, or just a shift in my preferences and tastes in general, having tried various new drams over the intervening months?

Impossible to tell, but still a pleasure to revisit two classy drams.

[sorren]

Interesting that you found your impression has changed, I find this pretty often, I usually put it down to the "open bottle" syndrome, I wonder how you'll find them in another years time...

[TheWM]

I'm impressed you managed to keep a bottle open for a year

[Alexppp]