Cadenhead’s Enigma series is steadily rolling along. It aims to highlight whiskies that are “unusual, hard to quantify, perhaps even slightly contradictory.” How does the Cadenhead’s Enigma 16 Years Speyside Single Malt fit into that mould? Well, it matured in an ex-Manzanilla cask, so that’s slightly unusual.
It didn’t take long for Cadenhead’s Enigma series to take hold. I suppose it helps when one of your first releases is a blended malt of Kilkerran and Hazelburn. Or when another is an affordable undisclosed single malt from one of Islay’s most popular distilleries. I don’t believe there’s much word on the origins of the 16-year-old Speysider I’m reviewing today, so we’ll just go in blind.
Cadenhead’s Enigma 16 Years Speyside Single Malt (53.6%, Cadenhead’s, 1284 bts.)
Nose: Hints of butter, tobacco, cedarwood, honey and earthy dunnage warehouses. Then slivers of cherries, cantaloupe and dried apricots. There’s a sliver of coconut shavings too, alongside some herbal influences.
Taste: Arriving on a fair amount of ginger. Some chili also. Feels slightly hot. But it’s not unbalanced. There’s hints of cigar boxes, definitely some mint, maybe cough syrup and also liquorice root. And the sweet fruitiness adds some stability. It’s faint, but think apricots and yellow plums.
Finish: Medium length. Herbal notes at first, but ending with gentle orchard fruits.
Photo: Deinwhisky.de
