"A surprising bottling of a well-known distillery with particularly more minerals and waxes than usual"
(Photo from Whiskybase)
Most of us know the distillery from the valley of the deer, which for many years revealed the highest selling umbers of any Scottish distillery. However, it is not the most sought-after brand by most whisky connaisseurs. This has probably something to do with image of Glenfiddich as being a bit bland and boring. I believe for any whisky lover is good to come back to the origins once in a while, since most of use did not begin our journey with the most expense or exclusive of whiskies.
Nose
Sweet nose with plenty of citrus fruits, fudge and straw. Citrus sweets and orange-flavoured white chocolate. There a mineral, grassy site behind these smells. More caramel fudge to complete a round nose. A few additions with citrus butter, butter cake, and more lemon. Water balances the nose slightly more between the citrus and grasses. Water turns it more into fragrant roses, orange soda and citrussy fudge.
Taste
Reasonable spirit-y taste with lots of grassy orange sweets, floral notes and tannins. It is leaving the mouth very dry. Quite unusual and not something I found this extreme in a whisky. I get grapefruit, lime stone, water melon, tangerine juice and wood. The tannins tend to block the aftertaste. Some water improves the palate and makes it much less dry. More oranges, tangerines, and in particular pineapples juice. I also find some rose water and slightly sour milk and a bit of wax. Water makes it more pleasant, better balanced and more fragrant. Aftertaste contains perfume-y, mineral notes with orange-flavoured water, lime soda and melon juice.
Overall
I was surprised by the fact that this is a Glenfiddich. Different from the standard profile of for instance the 15-years-old with more surprises and a bit more depth and substance. I particularly liked the waxiness. At times it lacked a bit of balance for me, since appeared slightly wacky with a peculiar taste of perfume.
- Review 2020-033
- Single malt
- Glenfiddich Distillery
- Glenfiddich (William Grant & Sons)
- 14-years-old
- Unknown bottling date
- American and Spanish oaks and finished on new charred barrels
- Caramel-coloured
- Chill-filtered
- 43
- Undisclosed number of bottles
- ±50
- Still available (only USA)
- Whiskybase #72481
What others say
This sample was part of organised by Whisky4all!
Scores
• these are my personal views, so do not take them too seriously… nothing beats tasting these for yourself •
- Butter cake
- Oranges
- Grassy