William Cadenhead 43-year-old CA

Name: William Cadenhead 43-year-old CA
Brand: William Cadenhead
SKU: 87471
Rating: 88.59 (110 reviews)

Overall rating: 88.59/100
votes: 110

Whiskybase ID: WB87471
Category: Blend
Distilleries: Glenfarclas, Glenlivet, Invergordon
Bottler: Cadenhead (CA)
Bottling serie: Blended Scotch Whisky
Stated Age: 43 years old
Casktype: Oak Casks
Number of bottles: 624
Strength: 44.2 % Vol.
Size: 700 ml
Added on: 02 Oct 2016 8:45 am by RoyalScotsman

Average value

€ 232.30

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Whisky Reviews for William Cadenhead 43-year-old CA

26 users have left a review for this whisky and scored it an average of 88.59 points

hs305 scored this whisky 91 points
22 May 2017 6:23 pm
[May, 2017] I just arrived in Campbeltown for the upcoming festival, so this is a good reason to re-taste this delicious old Cadenhead blend. It is composed of 45 per cent malt (Glenfarclas, Glenlivet) and 55 per cent grain (Invergordon), I bought a bottle for 153 Euro.

This whisky shows that sometimes less is more: Just three ingredients form a great blend, one to sniff and chew for hours if you adore such old-style complex stuff. And to state it again for all that experience OBFs (old bottle flavours) the first time - these unusual (solvent) aromas on the nose indicate real great drams and they are neither flaws nor off-notes!

Nose

92 92

The colour is deep copper and the texture shows a few slow legs and late fat tears. The nose... YES, there it is: tons of OBFs (adhesive glue, lacquer paint, nail varnish remover), simply great! And delicious old sherry and fruity aromas with surprisingly low wooden notes (given the 43 years in cask). Great complexity and balance, I guess a trained nose could easily smell 20+ different aromas in here.

Taste

90 90

The taste rolls in different waves over my taste buds and is centered around old-school sherry and grainy flavours, all imbedded in a sound (but never bitter or drying) wooden structure. Dozens of flavours all in great harmony. Some drops of water open up the nose and smoothen the taste/finish even further, I like it that way better. But be cautious not to add too much of it as this dram flattens quickly.

Finish

91 91

The first mouthfeel is astonishingly fresh, smooth and mellow. It coats the whole mouth without any hot or astringent moments. Again no bitter woody notes after all the decades. The finish gets more chocolatey than the body and now, at its very end the first slight bitter tannins pop up (unbelievable late and never unpleasant, rather chewable).
ColdAesthetics scored this whisky 90 points
28 Feb 2019 11:34 pm
The nose made me doubt whether this is really good, but in the mouth it sparked by the surprise of a small fireworks, while beautifully edgy Oldschool.

Nose

A little shoe polish, a lot of caramel, sweet honey, oiled leather, chamomile tea, licorice, after a while comes fresh apple, light notes of esthern, fresh citrus notes also, rosemary, malt, thyme

Taste

Much more fruit and malt content than the nose suggested, lots of red and green apple, tangerine, fresh honey, pepper, salt, apricot, walnuts, thyme and other herbs

Finish

Furthermore, nuts, autumn leaves, oak with herbal honey, long
Defeatless scored this whisky 92 points
03 Nov 2017 11:32 pm
Nose:
This is a very good nose. There is some glue in here, which comes from the old grain. But it fades away for very mellow, designated old whisky notes. There is some oak, fudge, old bookshop, fruit cake and so on in here. Something to keep sniffing and sniffing.
This is very, very good!

Taste:
This is how only really fine and very mature whisky's can taste. It is a bit sweet and sour, but also a very nice and decent 'hardy' note. There is some oak, there is some citrus (still!), some fudge and caramel in here. Very nicely balanced and layered whisky

Body:
Full, creamy and mellow

Finish:
Long. The finish is a tad sour, but it is very good. It begins with a burst of vanilla and caramel. Then there is some of the wood, and it fades away with a sour note.

Price:
We could manage to get one for €190,-. Which is an excellent deal.

Presentation:
Sober, which is fine! Very transparent info on the bottle!

Comments:
This is a very good blend, probably the best blended I've ever tasted.
- Nose
  
  92 92
- Taste
  
  92 92
- Finish
  
  92 92
Cask1988 did not rate this whisky
29 Jul 2018 11:01 pm
What more can you say. This is fantastic stuff!!

Age doesn’t guarantee anything. I've tasted young whiskies that where way better matured and balanced than older 20+ years whiskies. But with this one Cadenhead did one hell of a job!! This is without a doubt top 5 material for me.

Make sure you pour a glass and leave it for at least 30 minutes. Let it breath and get rid of the typical extreme glue smell a grain whisky gives at the start. If you don’t, you won’t enjoy it i think. After 30 minutes 1 single drop of water and keep sniffing!

Nose

Oomph....alright. There is age..age..and...age! Some leather notes and a lot of very ripe fruits like apples, pears and also dried red fruit. There is a great balance going on inhere between the malts and the grain. Man-o-man what a nose! Sophisticated and so well aged! You can smell this whisky has got a very good body which is also very fragile.

Taste

Age is all over this one. Again very ripe fruits! The grain really lifts the malts and gives it a subtle, well rounded flavor. Old, wet wood notes. At first it appears to be a little thin, but it soon starts to give a , soft, subtle, well balanced, creamy and a little oily experience. It’s like your mouth gets wrapped in a silky, buttery layer all around.

Finish

Just beautiful! This one keeps you company for quite a while. My tip: just don’t eat, drink or brush your teeth anymore after this. It ends up sweet and woody accompanied with some Caramel fudge and vanilla and leaves you with a silky feeling.
didi1893 scored this whisky 89 points
19 Nov 2018 8:03 pm
This old blend is harmoniously balanced and wins through its pleasant sharpness neatly in volume and strength. In the nose and in the taste, the Grainanteil (here in the form of a delicious Invergordon) can not be denied, the single malts used harmonize perfectly with the Grain. Although this filling has fruity and sweet elements, unfortunately dominate the wooden flavors, I miss a little bit of "fruitiness". Of course, this is again whining on a high level because I still feel this old blend as very complex and multi-layered. Tastes and likes!

23/22/22/22 (89P)

Nose

Bright and clear, William Cadenhead shines amber from the Premium Snifter. Spicy oak notes and a fresh pinch of peppermint stand out of the glass, vanilla and fruity oranges exude their sweet aroma, in the background is a subtle musty and musty note. While I watch the long and oily "legs" on the glass wall, a touch of thyme and meadow herbs pulls through my nose, malty aromas lie discreetly in the background. Dried apricots and a scratched vanilla pod follow the slightly grassy and floral spicy notes, subtly a minimal adhesive note comes to light. The nose is still unbelievably fresh and harmoniously balanced for her age.

Taste

Mild and fine harsh, the first sip flows through the palate. Spicy wood tones and a handful of dried berries harmonize beautifully with the slowly emerging sharpness. A hint of pepper sticks to the tongue, again show thyme and herbs. Old walnuts and wet forest soil let the minimal sharpness disappear completely, apples and apricots provide a fruity component. After the second sip, the sharpness flares up again, black pepper sticks to the tongue, tart wood elements and dried fruit notes follow. Pleasant warmth runs through the throat, leaving wet leaves and rancid walnuts on the palate.

Finish

Old walnuts, wet leaves and spicy wood elements dominate the aftertaste from the beginning. Citrus, it could be Grapefruit, rise from the spicy and harsh wood tones, a hint of fresh mint also rises. Toffee and malt swim creamy in the saliva, a few butter flakes melt on the tongue.
EJS scored this whisky 87 points
14 Nov 2020 10:07 am
Nose

87 87

Taste

88 88

Finish

87 87
Jim_my_whisky did not rate this whisky
28 Jul 2020 8:15 pm

From Whiskyfun,

William Cadenhead 43 yo (44.2%, Cadenhead, blended Scotch, +/-2016) Three stars All right, some low malt proportions but there is some potential oomph, with 40% Glenfarclas and Glenfiddich, and 60% Invergordon. Love the design, since there’s no design. Colour: full gold. Nose: it’s rather the Invergordon that speaks out, with sweet and rounded vanillas and coconuts. Now it’s very interesting to ’feel’ the fight between the boneless grain and the rather bolder malts. Intriguing, I say. I’d have added 3 to 5% Coal Ila of something, but hey, not my business. Mouth: yes and no. Yes because it’s good, obviously, and no because the grain took control, for once. Some buttery, coconutty, vanilla-ed notes are playing it loud, and what comes next is rather too sweet and fruity for me. Jelly babies and stuff. So, a little thin, perhaps. Finish: medium, sweet. Comments: I’d say they need four times less time to make the same kind of whiskey in Amerikka! But yeah, it’s a very good drop. SGP:530 - 80 points.
maltandgrains scored this whisky 85 points
24 Jan 2020 7:52 pm
Nose

82 82

Wood glue, sherry, caramel. Sweet and smooth - as long as you don't stick your nose right down the glass, then it gets very spirited.

Taste

88 88

Great balance! Sweet, smooth. Dried fruits, oakiness, honey, coffee and caramel. Citric hint.

Finish

86 86

Medium-long. Coffee, dried fruits and dark chocolate. A little oakiness remains. A little orange zest.
Erik1908 scored this whisky 90 points
28 Dec 2019 8:36 pm
This is my 100ml share of a bottleshare I did with my friends here. Topic of that memorable afternoon was a collection of Cadenhead bottles.

Let's say that I followed the advise of Cask1988 (he was at the table as well) below here.

Let's also state that this comes very close to the vintage tasting of "old-style" whiskies we did some weeks ago. When I showed a picture of this bottle in my collection to the guys in the Cadenhead shop in Edinburgh, they got excited immediately: where did you get that from?

Nose

91 91

Poor a 3cl dram; leave it for 30-45 minutes. Add 2 drops of water (not more) and the rest is history. The nose gets stronger by the minute. The glue disappears. Beautiful, complex, sweet and mild spicy nose.

Taste

91 91

Complex again. Old-style whisky of the days long gone. This is how many whiskies should taste, but unfortunately do not. Quite a full body given the rather low abv.

Finish

89 89

Medium long to long and dry. This could/should have been a little stronger. Quite mellow and sweet till the end.

I am glad I still have 6cl left; I am for sure open for another bottleshare.
markkuyper scored this whisky 86 points
23 Dec 2019 5:35 pm
Nose

84 84

Taste

88 88

Finish

86 86

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