Kategoriarkiv: Glenfiddich

Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich 14 YO – Rich Oak

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and malty. At first there’s a heavy vanilla and honey sweetness sitting on top of baked red apples and malt. A mild oakiness floats around out on the edges. It comes with some baking spices, and it’s mainly cinnamon. After a while in the glass the whole seems to merge together and it becomes more balanced and the fruitiness becomes a bit fresher with some yellow pears added. The oakiness becomes more noticable over time. This is a nice nose which doesn’t feel flat or too mild even though it only has a low ABV to back it up.

Mouth: It starts out a bit flat with a slight astringency and a clear cut oakiness coating the palate. In the center it’s malty and sweet and the age shines through. There’s a black coffee bitterness spreading out slowly but steadily as well. The whole is not as fruity as on the nose and the main focus lies on the oak. Tofee and oak spices do take over for those who decides to wait around for them.

Finish: There’s no spikes during the transition and the toffee and oak mix continue to dominate the palate. It still has a lot of oak spices floating around and the bitterness, albeit a bit subdued, is clinging on in the back. The fruitiness is very dull and doesn’t contribute much to the whole at this point. The oakiness is slightly nutty but it takes up too much space from the start. This is a decent whisky which has too much oak influence and low ABV, which makes it unbalanced in taste and in sensation. It does deliver what the name implies though.

Additional information
The Glenfiddich 14 Rich Oak was released in 2010. It has first been matured for 14 years in american ex-bourbon barrels, then finished for 12 weeks in new European oak and six weeks in new American oak.

Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich 15 YO – Unique Solera Reserve

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is very fruity and sweet. Baked red apples and honey create a core with ripe bananas and a hint of flowers surrounding it. A layer of aromatic oak sits in the back creating a nice richness to it. There’s also a vanilla note somewhere in between. The age shows with a nice hint of dustiness and well-rounded distillate. A sour lemon note can be found somewhere in the background.

Mouth: It starts out honey sweet with some dustiness within. It soon turns towards a slightly more bitter character and astringent dry oakiness comes through before the fruitiness kicks in. A bit of spicyness comes through together with baked red apples with cinnamon and toffee. The oakiness brings some coffee and hazelnuts.

Finish: The oak is very up front from the get-go. It’s very aromatic and dry. A spicy note hits the tip of the toungue before the sweetness and fruitiness come through. Apples, cinnamon, vanilla and toffee are all found once again. The oak is still very much in focus. It still delivers notes of hazelnuts and coffee. It’s astringent, especially after a few sips. Far down the finish a hint of anise appears. This is an easy sipper and a dessert in a glass.

Additional information
The Glenfiddich 15 YO is aged in european ex-sherry casks, first fill, and refill american ex-bourbon barrels. It is then married together in a 50 000 liter big solera vatting tun that is never emptied below the halfway point.

Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich 12 YO

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 2
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s apple juice with a layer of lemon sourness surrounding it. Underneath there’s a sweet layer with malt, honey and vanilla. After a few seconds fresh berries start to peek through. A sprinkle of cinnamon and a nice oakiness create a nice mild spicy touch. This is a very approachable and recognizable nose.

Mouth: It starts out with vanilla and sweet liquorice on top of a nice round maltiness. The lemon note arrives first and resides in an outside layer while the apple juice, together with mixed dried fruits and a hint of sulfur, stays in the center. The oakiness and the cinnamon is still creating a nice spicyness. With time butterscotch shows up within the sweet layer.

Finish: A lemon sourness, with the sulfur note as close second, starts off the finish. The cinnamon and oakiness are next and after that the mixed dried fruits and the apple juice come through once again. The oakiness is very nice and it’s got a savory side to it. The oakiness is all by itself in the late finish, but it does a nice job on its own. This is just a classic, well made, run of the mill Speyside whisky. It’s doing a great job of delivering flavour even though it’s a low ABV, fairly cheap single malt.

Additional information
This whisky is matured for 12 years in ex-sherry (Oloroso) european oak casks and american oak casks before being married in oak marrying tuns for 9 months.

Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich 18 YO – Small Batch Reserve

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

See the queue here.

Additional information
This whisky is matured for 18 years in a mix of one part ex-Oloroso sherry european oak casks and two parts ex-bourbon barrels before being married in oak marrying tuns for at least 3 months. A batch consists of 150 casks. This is batch 8950.

Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich Experimental Series – IPA Experiment

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is very fruity and friendly. There’s a rather strong cinnamon and apple cider vibe to it, with a sweetness from vanilla, toffee and honey. There’s also a layer of green grapes and together with the hops from the IPA gives notes of a sweet sparkling white wine. The hops note isn’t dominant. It gets richer and the hops move forward a little bit with time in the glass.

Mouth: Lots of honey, lemon, dustiness, butterscotch and red ripe apples. After a while the bitter hops note appears in the back of the mouth. When it settles, the vanilla and oak flavours take over, but it’s still hoppy. The oak is very nice and sits well between the fruitiness and the bitterness. It’s not very spicy and still friendly and easy on the palate.

Finish: It starts out very sweet, with the honey note up front. It soon becomes very oak forward with a butterscotch and vanilla baseline. The hops follow along with the oak. It’s a tiny bit astringent, but the bitterness is all about the IPA. The oak is dusty and dry and the IPA also releases a sour note. It’s an easy sipper and very approachable.

Additional information
The IPA experiment is the first release in the ”Experimental series”. It’s finished in american ex-bourbon barrels that previously held their single malt and then seasoned with Indian Pale Ale for a month. The finishing period is about 3 months.

Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich Experimental Series – Project XX

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ABV: 47 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
This was tasted at a whisky festival. No tasting notes were recorded.

Additional information
The Project XX is a vatting of 20 casks. Glenfiddich invited 20 whisky experts and let them choose one cask each from one of their warehouse. All cask types aren’t disclosed but ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and ex-port casks are mentioned.

Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich Select Cask

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 2
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: Fruity, dried apricots, green apples, honey, vanilla, oak, Classic Speyside notes.

Mouth: Sweet, mild, spicy after a while, touch of salt. Some dustiness on top. A drop of water destroys the mouthfeel.

Finish: The spices disappear quite quick and leaves a long, very pleasant oak finish.

Additional information
The select cask is made using a solera vat. The casks used are american ex-bourbon barrels, european oak casks and ex-red wine casks. This cask collection series was relaunched in 2017.