Convalmore-Glenlevit 40, Cadenhead's 175th Anniversary, 56.8% abv.

Cadenhead was founded under a different name by George Duncan in 1842, making it pergaps the oldest IB in the world. William Cadenhead was Duncan's brother-in-law, who changed the company name after Duncan's passing in 1858. Supposedly, it was Cadenhead's nephew, Robert Duthie that actually spurred the IB business by creating his own vats/blends/mixes. Long story short, after a few changes in management, IB Cadenhead got rich off old barrels and was sold to J.A. Mitchell & Co., owners of the Springbank and Glengyle distilleries. Perhaps one of the few successful Scotch stories.

Nose: strong vanilla, crispy wafers, sharper juice aromas, slightly vegetative, stronger abv aromas.

Palate: very sweet, dry, initial palate already has abv burn, the spices build up, mid palate is meaty, cinnamon grape juice, slightly salted vegetables, back palate is sweet glazed bread.

Finish: medium, abv burn, many sweet spices.

This one is quite nice, starts off a little similar to the previous Mannachmore 37, but then the flavors diverge from there. Both are sweet, but this one is more neutral as opposed to apple cider, higher abv gives a burn effect. It's really tasty. Even though I'm a fan of old OB Convalmore, I do think the previous Mannachmore 37 was better though. I'd say it borderlines the A-/B+ range, but for the sake of conservatism, I'll keep it at B+ until I get to revisit to confirm.

Grade: B+

Whiskyfun.com, Serge Valentin, sgp:571, 91 points
Malt-review.com, Jason

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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