Review #419 - Cadenhead's Glen Keith 22 Year
Here's a distillery that isn't seen as a single malt too often: Glen Keith. On this Cadenhead's bottle, they use the old Speyside naming format, naming the distillery as 'Glen Keith-Glenlivet,' which is an unusual but interesting detail.
A relatively large distillery with a capacity around 6 million liters of alcohol per year, this Pernod Ricard-owned business was actually mothballed from 1999 to 2013, so there's a large gap in production vintages. Based on a bottling year of 2021 and the 22 year age statement, we can surmise that most or all of the liquid from this Cadenhead's batch came from the end of that earlier production run, around 1998 or 1999.
Ex-bourbon casks were the cask of choice for this whisky, and like the rest of Cadenhead's Original Collection, this is bottled at 46% ABV.
Cadenhead's Glen Keith 22 Year
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Current Locally Available Price: USD 220 (2024)
Age Statement: 22 Years
Strength: 46% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon casks
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; bottled September 2021
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle 60% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: A nice nose - aged oak, showing its maturity. Somewhat subtle, but light sweet fruits arrive: peach and nectarine. There are scents of honey and a bit of grassy heather, too.
Palate: Rounded and balanced, with plenty of fruits: peaches, nectarines, and some glazed strawberry. Honey and white pepper add a baking side to the flavor profile, while there's some syrupy oak in the background. At the end, a bit of black pepper, as well.
Finish: Medium-long, with lots of honey and heather. The peach returns from the nose and palate, and there's an interesting lactic element - yogurt. Oak is growing stronger - both dry driftwood and some polished furniture oak; in the aftertaste, a hint of salinity.
Final Note: Our first experience with Glen Keith, and it was a good one - this is a nice light single malt with plenty of fruit and oak character. It's well balanced with both sweet elements and peppery oak spice, and the finish was a bit unique.
Value is okay - this sort of age statement always comes with a bit of a premium, and this bottling from Cadenhead's is one of the more reasonable in that realm. If you're looking to try a new or rare distillery, this could be a good option.
Our Average Rating: 8.0 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.30
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Cadenhead’s reviews:
Review #344 - Cadenhead's Benrinnes 11 Year
