By WhiskyCriticGlenfiddich 12 Year OldThe name means “Valley of the Deer”, and the deer portrayed on the bottle and packaging is, perhaps, the most well known in the world. I certainly can’t think of one more commonly seen. Glenfiddich is, as you will probably be well aware, one of the best selling whiskys in the world. This, I suppose, is both a blessing and a curse for the distiller – while their sales are massive, their reputation among the snobby inner circles of whisky fandom is poor. As with so many things in this world, though, their poor reputation is likely down to their high level of recognition by the masses.
Don’t get me wrong, it is by no means a world-leading whisky in terms of flavour, but it does deserve more credit than it is often given. The subject of this review will be their 12 year old expression, which you’ll find in virtually any shop that sells whisky and has a price tag around £25 ($35) which rather unfortunately puts it in the same range as the much better Aberlour 10 year old.
The nose is fruity and fresh with the distinct scent of green apples, Williams pear, buttery honey, a touch of wood and almond paste. An easy nose to come to terms with and not without its charm, overall quite pleasant indeed. The body is smooth and soft and presents toasted, nutty flavours along with almond, pear and a touch of cloves. The green apples come back for a final farewell on the medium-short finish.
As I said before, it is by no means spectacular, but I don’t at all blame people for liking it. I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it, nor would I hesitate to keep a bottle at home – but I wouldn’t make it a priority to keep it in stock, nor will it ever see a place in that most holy of places; my bar globe.
Colour: Sunlight stricken gold.
Nose: Green apples, Williams pear, buttery honey, touch of wood and almond paste. Pleasant.
Taste: Smooth, toasted nuttiness, almond, pear and a touch of cloves. Green apple finish.
Glenfiddich 15 Year Old
What makes whisky so interesting, and at the same time daunting, is the sheer range of variations, flavours, brands and expressions gathered under its banner. Even if you have your daily dram as prescribed by any doctor worth his salt, you can go a whole year without drinking the same dram twice. Not literally the same dram, of course – one would assume (hope, even) that you could go a lifetime without doing that, regardless of the frequency of your consumption. It follows, then, that you might go for months on end without revisiting the same distillery twice.
Then, one day, it dawns on you that you haven’t so much as glanced in the general direction of a certain distillery, and you feel that familiar tinge of excitement reserved for revisiting an old friend. That’s what happened to me just the other day. I was browsing my local pub’s whisky offering, trying to decide what sort of mood I was in, when I came across a very familiar name indeed: Glenfiddich. How I ever managed to forget it to the extent where I haven’t had it for nearly a year is beyond me, but I did. In fact, the last time I had Glenfiddich, so far as I can remember, must have been just before writing my review of their 12 year old expression – which was in April of last year!
As such, I felt obliged (and delighted) to opt for a dram of Glenfiddich 15, and of course I took down a couple of notes. The nose is nice and fruity; very sweet indeed. I had some difficulty in trying to put into words the initial sweetness, and the closest I could come with is a combination of a freshly opened bag of molasses sugar and juicy, succulent raisins. That initial sweetness is soon followed by a well-rounded fruitiness, in particular I’m getting ripe pears and lightly fried plantain with sprinkling of sugar. It’s a lovely nose, a definite step up from the 12 year old.
The palate initially provides more of an alcoholic kick than one might expect, but not in a bad way. Said kick mellows out quickly, however, and is followed by a quite earthy combination of oak, honey, a mild leatheriness (pretty sure I made that word up) and again some fruity sweetness; cooked pears and warm, mild banana, and some spice. Not as nice as the nose, in my opinion, but delightful nevertheless.
In summary, then, the 15 year old is an all-round improvement on the 12 year old expression and on the whole a lovely whisky in its segment.
Colour: This may sound rather unflattering, but the first thing to come to mind was apple concentrate.
Nose: Lovely. Molasses sugar and juicy raisins, fruity (ripe pear, lightly fried and caramelised plantain).
Taste: Initial alcohol kick, oak, honey, slightly leathery, cooked pears, warm banana, mild spice.
Glenfiddich 18 Year Old Having recently “rediscovered” Glenfiddich, I decided to make their standard 18 year old expression my dram of the day. Since I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m developing a cold, I also decided to make it my second dram of the day – just to be on the safe side.
Rather than blabbering on in my usual fashion, I’m going to get straight to business with this review. My very first thought when putting dram #1 to my nose was “I bet this would go well with a cup of coffee”, a theory I proved right some 5 minutes of impatient waiting later. Do note that I said with and not in, by the way. The nose has a lovely and well rounded scent to it, packed with sweet dried fruits (apricot, apple, raisins) along with a vanilla fudge note, as well as a lovely bit of citrus which brings a perfect measure of balance to the sweetness. I can’t quite decide whether it is better than the 15 year old, though… I suspect they may be on a par.
The palate is very gentle; if drinking Cutty Sark is like being slapped across the face with a trout (it is), this is like being caressed by a mermaid. Once again there’s that sweet fudge and some of the fruitiness is still present, though it has been joined by some oak and spice notes. There’s also that same honey sweetness you find in the 15 year old, but unfortunately I can’t find the warm banana which I so enjoyed in that expression.
As I hope is obvious from the above, I am definitely a fan of this whisky. It’s very drinkable and a perfect dram for just sitting back and relaxing with a good book, or a cup of coffee, or both. That said, though, I’m not sure whether it’s worth the extra £7 or so to upgrade from the 15. I guess it depends on the thickness of your wallet, but I do think the 15 offers better bang for your buck.
Colour: Light gold.
Nose: Dried fruits (apricot, apple, raisins), vanilla fudge, citrus.
Palate: Sweet, fudge, same fruits as nose, oak, spice, honey.
By Chris Carlsson
Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 Year-old
Glenfiddich Distillery Ltd. (Dufftown, Banfshire, Scotland)
Grain - Barley Malt
PROOF: 80 (40%)
AGE: 21 Years
TYPE: Single Malt -Highlands-Speyside
Notes: The Highlands have a few different sub regions and styles- this one is considered a Speyside by location and style/profile.
Glenfiddich or "Valley of the Deer", was established in 1887 and is owned by the same people who make Balvenie. This company has a range of malts 12,15,18, 21, 30, 40, and 50 year-olds, and a number of special bottlings.One of the better known industry heavyweights in the Single Malt category.
Uses smaller pot stills to make it's whisky and a variety of woods to age them in. In this case they use Rum Casks - which is highly unusual in the industry.The exact origin of the casks varies (or so they say) as the non U.S. bottling's use Cuban Havana Club Rum casks, and the U.S. version only state "Caribbean Rum" - no origin beyond that.
Appearance: Pleasing bronze/gold, nice edge line on the glass when you swirl it, smooth layer of whiskey on swirling.
First Impression: Light peat smoke, honey, heather, malt/toffee, dried fruits, oak and sweetness of the rum cask wood comes through.
Taste: Sweet oily feel to the malt. Medium-weight mouth feel (for a scotch) Dried fruit then Cream Brulee then Cafe con Leche (Cuban coffee with milk and sugar) then malt and heather. Finish is sweet turning drier (lime, ginger, pepper, at the end).
Drinks: Decent spirits glass (Riedel or better yet Celtic Malts Spirits Glass) glass only.
Cigars: Yes, but something light - try a Natural Wrapper or Connecticut Shade Ashton, maybe?
Final Thoughts: A immensely drinkable Single Malt, not overly woody and lively - which is amazing given the age - and very easy to appreciate even for a novice drinker. A wonderful malt to enjoy before a fire and dreaming of warmer climes. A excellent choice for a gift (for yourself or a good friend).
Bottle: Traditional Glenfiddich rounded triangular bottle however the glass is more brown (with a matching label) than the deep green of the more well known 12 year-old (which has the black and gold label). Comes in a presentation shipping tube. Real cork closure.
