Caledonia Edradour 12

Description

The Edradour Caledonia is a single cask single malt Scotch whisky from the Highland distillery. Matured in Oloroso Sherry oak and specially selected by songwriter Douglas MacLean, and helps promote it. Of course, it was named after MacLeans’ famous song ‘Caledonia’. Caledonia is the latin-icized name for Scotland, given by the Romans. This gift set comes packed handsomely with two tasting glasses, perfect for nosing and sampling this sherried dram.

Caledonia is bottled at 46% ABV, and is not chill-filtered, nor any coloring agents are added. The current release is 12 years old, and aged in oloroso sherry. As this was a special release from a distillery with minuscule production quantities, I’m not sure how easy it would be to track down a bottle.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Sweet, creamy and honeyed, with notes of Manuka honey, hints of dried fig and date, soft sherry and a hint of oak.

Palate: Full and rich with notes of berry fruits, and honey and butter on granary toast. More sherry, caramel and toasted almond.

Finish: Gently warming, spicy, dry and sprinkled with a dusting of cocoa.

What some of our whisky loving friends have said about Caledonia Edradour 12

Quote 1  “I finally finished most of my open bottles and got around to opening this last night. When you called it a weighty dram, you weren’t kidding. Besides, all the typical notes of sherry maturation are present and very marked. In a blind tasting I would almost be able to believe that this is cask strength. The heaviness of this also makes it something I won’t drink on a regular basis. So, the bottle should last a while. If you like good old fashioned sherry matured whisky you can’t go wrong with this. ”

Quote 2  “This is not a whisky for someone just beginning their journey into tasting single malt Scotches. However, this is a very brave, unchillfiltered, complex single malt appealing to the sensations. Fusial, aromatic, astringent and resinous compounds. An unapologetic whisky. ”

Quote 3  “The more whisky I drink, the more I’m drawn to those which are not chill-filtered and are naturally colored. And I’ve been drinking it for quite a few years. By the way, some distilleries like Ardbeg, Springbank, Bunnahabhain and Glendronach don’t do it at all, while others like Powers and Edradour only release certain expressions that are not chill-filtered and are naturally colored. ”

Do you have a different opinion?  Add your comments below.