Cadenhead's Enigma 27 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky
Cadenhead's Enigma 27 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky is a 51.8% ABV (103.6 proof), 700mL blended malt Scotch — distilled in 1997, matured 27 years in a bourbon hogshead and bottled in September 2024 by Cadenhead's, Scotland's oldest independent bottler. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 51.8% (103.6 proof)
- Size: 700mL
- Age: 27 years — distilled 1997, bottled September 2024
- Style: Blended malt Scotch whisky — a "teaspooned" whisky (a tiny measure of one malt added to another)
- Cask: Bourbon hogshead
- Presentation: Non-chill-filtered, natural colour
- Bottler: Wm Cadenhead's, founded 1842 — distillery undisclosed (Enigma series)
- Origin: Scotland
An Enigma by Design
Cadenhead's Enigma series exists for whiskies whose origins stay secret — single casks and blends released without a distillery name, so the whisky speaks entirely for itself. This 27 year old is a teaspooned blended malt: one malt joined by a tiny amount of another, a traditional practice that protects the main distillery's anonymity while keeping the whisky, legally, a blend. Bottled at cask strength without chill-filtration or added colour after 27 years in a bourbon hogshead, it is old-school independent bottling from a house founded in 1842. Browse the WM Cadenhead collection, more Scotch whisky, and the full whisky shelves at Del Mesa.
Tasting Notes
Cadenhead's own notes: custard creams, pears, cinnamon, warm pastry and butterscotch mousse on the nose; sweet oat biscuits, honeycomb, nutmeg and gooseberries on the palate; a finish of mint leaves, white grapes, treacle and root ginger — nearly three decades of bourbon-cask sweetness, still bright with fruit.
How to Enjoy
Pour it neat first — at 51.8% it carries the full hogshead character — then add a few drops of water to open the pastry, pear and honeycomb layers. This is a contemplative dram, not a mixer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "teaspooned" mean? A teaspooned whisky is one distillery's malt with a tiny measure — a teaspoonful, in the trade's language — of another malt added, so it must be sold as a blended malt and the source distillery stays anonymous.
Which distillery made Cadenhead's Enigma 27? It is deliberately undisclosed — the Enigma series releases whiskies without naming the distillery. What is known: it was distilled in 1997 and matured in a bourbon hogshead.
What is the proof? 51.8% ABV (103.6 proof), bottled without chill-filtration or added colouring.
How old is it? 27 years — distilled in 1997 and bottled in September 2024.
Twenty-seven years old and still keeping its secret — order Cadenhead's Enigma online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.