We were coming to the close of our 2nd day at London’s Whisky Show 2024. We had explored so many interesting whiskies that when a whisky industry insider shared his favourite of the festival was a vodka – we did a double take – vodka? Really?
However we thought, “What the heck? Why not give it a go!” We then learned the vodka in question came from New Zealand. Like many newer distilleries, Cardona produces multiple spirits – vodka, gin and whisky – we were at a Whisky Show after all!
The Reid single malt vodka 44% NZD 122
- Nose – Beautiful! A lovely floral aroma – like wandering past a rose bush. The sweet essence was entrancing. It was a floral and fruity perfume with pears and bananas
- Palate – Soft on the palate… the bananas were joined by caramel and tinned pineapples
- Finish – Candy floss, loads of flavours lingering
We had no idea what to expect. And were blown away – it was simply spectacular. It is hard to describe why exactly it captured us so completely – it just did. Simply wow!
Here’s what the folks at Cardona have to say about their vodka:
Decadently rich, The Reid Single Malt Vodka is the best vodka you will ever taste. It was awarded Gold at the World’s Best 50 International Awards in New York. On the nose, The Reid is delicately nuanced with pear drops, lemon, toffee and malt biscuits. On the tongue, the Reid is weighted and balanced. Exquisite neat, with water, or mixed into a crafted cocktail.
Cardrona 7years Full Flight Solera 62.8% NZD 175
- Nose – Quite active, light lemon
- Palate – Banana and spice
- Finish – Cayenne finish
In fairness, after the incredible vodka, it was a tough act to follow. They shared it spent five years in ex-Bourbon barrels before maturing another two years in Sherry. Whilst the website indicates Oloroso however at the Whisky Show, the folks mentioned PX cask.
This is what the folks at Cardona have to say about this expression:
Full Flight is the final expression of The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky coming of age. Aged for seven years in a marriage of specially selected ex-Oloroso Sherry butts and ex-Bourbon barrels, Full Flight is decadently rich and delivered at natural cask strength. Dark fruits on the nose, and sticky treacle in the mouth.
Cardrona The Falcon 52% NZD 353
- Nose – A powerhouse on the nose
- Palate – In some ways it is more refined than the Full Flight, however still has a kick!
- Finish – Peppery
To be honest, we were clearly into whisky show fatigue by this point. I later counted it up – much more than 60 drams were sniffed, swished, and sampled over the weekend. How could we truly do justice to our final whisky of the event?
So I turned to check out what the folks at Cardrona have to say about this dram:
An exquisite trinity of three hand-selected casks, drawn from some of our oldest stocks and reduced to 52% abv.
Burnt toffee. Vanilla cream. Sun-scorched nectarine. Pepper.
Whilst the whiskies were a bonus, it truly was the vodka that was the star of the show!
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