Cardrona Single Malt Whisky (Just Hatched)
Philip Day recently sampled the delights of Cardrona Single Malt Whisky (Just Hatched). This hand-crafted spirit originates from New Zealand. In this feature, Philip provides background information on Cadrona Spirits and provides his tasting notes.
Introducing Cardrona Spirits
The Cardrona Distillery range of exquisite hand-crafted spirits is now available in the UK, hailing from one of the world’s most remarkable distilleries: Cardrona Distillery in New Zealand.
Cardrona’s luxurious single malt whisky, gin, vodka and liqueurs all perfectly capture the purity and beauty of their home in the Cardrona Valley, set within the spectacular snow-capped Southern Alps of New Zealand’s South Island – a location which makes this one of the world’s most southerly distilleries.
A brief history of Cardrona Distillery
The story of Cardrona is one of its magical location and the incredible vision and determination of its founder, former farmer Desiree Reid.
Desiree first fell in love with single malt whisky whilst living in the UK, but upon returning home pursued her education and began her successful career in the dairy industry.
Desiree sold her farming business in 2011 to follow her dream of building a modern, family-run distillery in her native New Zealand; one that would produce beautiful, locally-crafted spirits to be enjoyed and celebrated by drinkers across the globe.
Her decision to follow her dream, brought about over 2 years of travelling and research in Scotland and the US.
Desiree befriended the influential US Master Distiller Dave Pickerell, who, alongside other internationally recognised distilling experts, taught her the art of distillation. This period was followed by a lengthy process to obtain permission to build a distillery in an area of outstanding beauty.
She chose her site at the foot of Mount Cardrona for its unspoilt tranquillity, crisp clean air and the availability of superb quality local ingredients, perfect for foraging across the seasons. But most importantly, it gave her access to the crystal clear, mineral rich waters of New Zealand’s highest alpine pass for production.
Her tenacity and dedication over four years resulted in the distillery finally being built in 2015 and the first spirit officially being distilled at Cardrona Distillery in October that year, with the first cask laid down on the 5th of November.
The distillery was designed by the internationally recognized local architect, Sarah Scott, who took on the project out of love for the untouched valley. Solid schist walls form the home to two glorious bespoke copper pot stills, handmade for Cardrona by the world’s foremost coppersmiths, Forsyths of Rothes, Scotland.
Desiree has since steered the company to achieve year on year growth, team expansion and a growing reputation for a brand of spirits that is unparalleled in quality, design and taste. Desiree’s unwavering philosophy of never cutting corners rings true across all aspects of the business, inspiring her talented team to constantly strive for excellence.
“We live to make great single malt whisky,” commented Desiree Reid, standing in the middle of the Cardrona Valley. Flanked by two ancient mountain ranges, the valley rises steeply to the hairpin bends of the Crown Range Road. This area of outstanding natural beauty was the inspiration for the native New Zealander’s pursuit of whisky excellence. Cardrona is one of the world’s rarest must-haves in a whisky collection, and is hard to get.
“Every distillery has a unique and identifiable character and Cardrona’s character is extraordinary,” said Desiree.
“A whisky’s character is a result of the distillery. Every nuance, every small decision and design moment builds the character that altogether is recognizable as a specific whisky. Whisky is like a fine oil painting, built up layer upon layer upon layer.”
With whisky that character starts with the water, the malt variety and the grind of the mill. It is then added to the mash tun design, the yeast, and construction of the washbacks. Finally, the character is cemented with length of ferment, the shape of the copper pot stills, and the specific cut points at the spirit safe.
“A great whisky requires great ingredients, equipment, and, above all, experience,” Desiree has stated. She attributed Cardrona’s success to its Master Distiller, Sarah Elsom, whose small team of distillers is dedicated to crafting an extraordinary dram. “Their attention to detail and quality is the secret behind Cardrona’s excellence.”
Sarah’s team capture the distillery character. The spirit is laid to rest in seasoned oak casks, sourced from ex-Oloroso sherry butts from the south of Spain, ex-bourbon barrels from Kentucky, and ex-Pinot Noir casks from Central Otago in New Zealand. The spirit is aged into whisky and then carefully selected and married together, or, on occasion, released as a single-cask expression.
Cardrona Distillery has been created as an ambitious family business with a commitment to developing its people, processes and brands for the long term. The award-winning products it has released so far confirm that this is a very special range of hand-crafted spirits with huge potential, thoughtfully made and emanating unique Cardona quality, character and charm.
Let’s look at The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky (Just Hatched) in more detail:
Company description:
The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky
‘Just Hatched Solera’: a special natural cask strength bottling marking the momentous occasion of reaching three years old. A marriage of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, revealing Cardrona’s underlying character of borage flower honey, vanilla and spice.
350ml, 64.4% ABV.
“The character is magnificent,” affirms Desiree, “A weighted creamy spirit on the palate offering notes of honey, vanilla and spice, and then a layering of the seasoned oak, bringing nuances of roasted stone fruit and buttered almonds.”
All of Cardrona’s bottlings are released at cask strength, which is a signature of this iconic distillery.
Personal tasting notes (Official sample kindly provided by Cardrona Distillery, New Zealand through Burt Greener Communications)
COLOUR: Amber
NOSE: Warm buttered fruit bread with hints of caramelised demerara sugar. Aromas of maltiness citrus and apple.
PALATE: A viscous mouth feel. Full-bodied and strong, being cask strength; honeyed with distinctive floral and tart citrus notes. There are also hints of vanilla, malty cereal and spicy undertones, which together provide a biscuity, nutty taste element.
The addition of a few drops of water, makes the mouthfeel become creamier, with an increase of vanilla and a more floral character surfaces, while the spiced influence of the barrel wood is softened.
FINISH: A lengthy, warm finish, with lingering malty and caramelised fruit notes.
ABV: 64.4% (Cask strength)
SIZE: 35cl
To sum up
Just Hatched is an excellent whisky where high quality spirit has been subjected to an appropriate maturation process. It is a thrilling early release from Cardrona Distillery, that bodes well for further greater releases to come in the future.
AVAILABILITY: From specialist whisky shops and online merchants.
RRP: £75
The 3 year old ‘Just Hatched’ Single Malt Whisky was awarded category winner Single Malt 12 years and under at the World Whiskies Award in February 2020.
When the 3 year old Cardrona Single Malt Whisky was released in 2018, the first cask sold out in three days.
Scored as one of the best 50 drams ever reviewed by Whisky Magazine, Cardrona’s philosophy is to make things properly.
“Cardrona produces a singularly tiny amount of malt spirit each year, just a barrel a day,” Desiree has previously stated. “Our sole focus is to make great whisky, with the very best ingredients and craftsmanship. In 50 years Cardrona will remain an artisan distillery dedicated to crafting one of the most sought-after malts in the world, from one of the world’s most pristine environments.”
“A great whisky is like a fine piece of art – it is built in layers, each one adding more colour and texture than the one before. But a masterpiece isn’t something you can make with a click of the fingers. It takes time, patience, and years of waiting.”
Cardrona Distillery has also released a five year old bottling:
‘Growing Wings Solera’: a natural, cask strength celebration of five years in oak, bringing together whisky matured in select ex-Oloroso Sherry butts and ex-bourbon barrels.
Notes of Pecan pie, loaded with treacle and vanilla bean clotted cream. 350ml, 65.6% ABV, natural cask strength
(See website for further information.)
Contact details:
Internet:
https://www.cardronadistillery.co.uk.
https://www.cardronadistillery.co.nz
Facebook: @cardonadistillery
Instagram: @cardronadistillery
LinkedIn: @cardonadistillery
References:
- https://www.cardronadistillery.co.uk
- On-line video tasting 09/03/2022
- Biographical information and press release materials kindly provided through Burt Greener Communications
Images:
Kindly provided by the company through Burt Greener Communications