Whisky Emporium

Glenfiddich

Glenfiddich distillery

Region: Speyside

Location: Dufftown, Banffshire

Status: Operational (currently owned by William Grant & Sons)

General whisky characteristics: Dark fruits, chocolate, citrus

More great distillery info here, thanks to Malt Madness

My thanks to Alan Jamieson for permission to copy and use the distillery pictures

Glenfiddich, Caoran Reserve, 12y, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: A Scottish jetty with hints of smoked ham.

Palate: Slightly smoked, roast beef flavoured ice cream. That say it all really with suggestions of roast beef, a little smoke and ice cream.

Overall Impression: I always understood this Caoran to be lightly peated, but someone from Glenfiddich suggested it was more heavily peated. My own experience now shows my preconception to be correct, but I was indeed surprised to find how round and creamy this is. Much more so than the standard 12y expression.

Glenfiddich, 12y, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Moss, heather and pears with a touch of Scottish sea.

Palate: Almond and marzipan tingling across the palate before leaving a slightly bitter aftertaste of pears, which doesn’t linger very long.

Overall Impression: Nice flavours but the slightly bitter aftertaste and short finish disappoint slightly.

Glenfiddich, 15y, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Pears and air-dried (Parma or Serano) ham.

Palate: An immediate smooth creaminess soon gives way to a tingle of almonds, raisins and pears. The finish is once again slightly bitter, but longer than the 12y.

Overall Impression: Definitely worth trying as it is a quite different Glenfiddich.

Glenfiddich, 18y, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Grass, hay and straw with suggestions of banana and oak.

Palate: Very smooth with almost no follow-up tingle but a lovely flavour of mixed nuts with a hint of banana. The finish is quite luxurious and long.

Overall Impression: This malt is quite rich and very rounded which lingers long on the palate and is highly recommendable.

Summary of a Head to Head for these expressions;

I was quite surprised by this comparison, especially by the smoothness of some of the whiskies and certainly by the Caoran which I found to be smoother and much better than my expectations. The standard 12y is still quite fiery or spicy, but as the expressions mature, then they become much smoother and more surprising. I did find the 12y & 15y to be quite short in their finishes, but the 18y is quite a delight and is a jolly good whisky.

The Caoran is quite different, but also enjoyable and personally, I find this considerably more enjoyable than the standard 12y expression, although my overall favourite here is definitely the 18y.

Glenfiddich, Havana Reserve, 21y, 40% ABV

Cuban Rum casks, the original (now obsolete) bottling

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Rum or molasses, oak & raisins.

Palate: Initially sweet, then apricots marinated in a cocktail of rum and brandy. Not a long finish, but very smooth and very pleasant.

Overall Impression and author's note: I like this. It is an easy whisky to drink, being very smooth with a very good rich flavour. Unfortunately, this is no longer available as Glenfiddich's largest export market has a trade embargo, banning any products supporting Cuban business, so no more Cuban rum cask finishes. Such a shame as the replacement "Gran Reserva" is not as good as this one.

Glenfiddich, Special Reserve, 40% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Light 9 carat gold

Nose: Creamy grass, malt, faint fresh nutty notes.

Palate: Initially creamy, then grassy but opening to include hints of rubbery coconut.

Finish: Medium to long, grassy and slightly bitter

Overall Impression: Quite a grassy and slightly bitter Glenfiddich, not my favourite.

A Masterclass by

Alois Immoos with Glenfiddich

Glenfiddich 21y

(Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€)

Nose: Heather, vanilla and melon-flavour ice cream

Palate: No heather, but the vanilla and slightly bitter melon-flavour ice cream are there.

Chocolate: This 21y was paired by Alois with a truffle and then with some very pure, bitter chocolate.
With the truffle the combination was quite bitter.
With the pure chocolate the chocolate was too overpowering.
Sorry, but much better without the chocolate.

Glenfiddich 15y Solera Reserve

(Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€)

Nose: Fresh oak, herbs and kiwi fruit

Palate: New oak and quite a dry impression

With water: The kiwi fruit joins the oak on the palate.

With Chocolate: The chocolate was a dark, quite bitter example (Marrakaibo 65% cacao), but this combination worked well. One of the best Glenfiddich & chocolate combinations of the day.

Glenfiddich 18y

(Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€)

Nose: Slightly smoky, leather and pears

Palate: Watery (thin) and quite short finish. Pears and malt.

With 68% cacao chocolate: Alone, the chocolate was quite bitter, but together they harmonised into a fruity and pleasant surprise.
With 48% cacao chcocolate: OK, but not as good as above.

Glenfiddich 30y

(Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€)

Nose: Dark chocolate, ginger and raisins

Palate: Very smooth and gentle, but quite short. Very nice soft raisins.

With chocolate: The offered chocolate was again quite bitter and far too strong for the Glenfiddich. However, I went back to a truffle originally offered with the 21y and this combination of Glenfiddich 30y with a truffle was a good combination.

Overall Impression of Masterclass

This class was led by Alois Immoos of a leading Swiss chocolate company and yes, this was fine chocolate, but most of the combinations just didn't work.
Whisky & chocolate can work very well in combination, but they have to be better matched than these were and perhaps more account be taken of the whisky, rather than just showing us how good the chocolate is.