November 6, 2014

Glenfiddiching again

Quite a few distinguished readers have told me that I’ve been a little too harsh with the newish 26yo ‘Elegance’. Or was that ‘Excellence?’ Not too sure about that, but maybe we could try another bunch of Glenfiddich, to try to make amend.

Glenfiddich 18 yo 'Small Batch Reserve’ (40%, OB, 2014)

This seems to be the new livery for the ‘regular’ 18 yo. You ought to be ‘small batch’ anyway these days. Colour: gold. Nose: very light, but I do enjoy these touches of marzipan, overripe apples and fresh hazelnuts. And then the roses, the whiffs of orange blossom, lime-blossom tea, fresh almonds… I find this very delicate. Mouth: in keeping with the nose. Oriental flavours, Turkish delights, baklavas, plenty of almonds, freshly squeezed oranges, then more cider, while it becomes a little sourer. Finish: short, but delicately spicy. Christmas cookies (bredele as we say in Alsace.) Comments: one easy and delicate malt whisky. I’m no sexist, so I won’t write that it’s a little femini… oops! In good progress in my book (vs. the older 18). SGP:331 - 81 points.

Glenfiddich ‘125th Anniversary Edition’ (43%, OB, 2013?)

This baby’s said to be lightly peated, let’s see… Colour: gold. Nose: bizarre! It reminds me of Sweden’s Mackmyra. Not a bad thing! Or of an experience I did quite some years ago, redistilling mostly peated whisky and re-aging it in a small ex-wine cask. So this is rather going towards sloe and some kind of medicinal mouthwash instead of straight peat, but the global feeling tends to become nicer and nicer, despite whiffs of sour oak. Also the usual overripe apples. Intriguing, as they say. Smoked ham after five minutes. Mouth: more straight peat! How did they do that? By simply finishing some Glenfiddich in ex-heavy-peater casks? It’s quite nice I have to say, reminding me of some peated Benriachs. Rather ashy. A feeling of smoked cider, then more vanilla-ed sweetness. Finish: rather short, but clean and ashy. This feeling of smoked cider again. Comments: shouldn’t we call this ‘a kind of vatting’? It’s well made, the peat is obvious and even quite big. Imagine anybody buying this baby in travel retail while thinking it’s ‘good old smooth Glenfiddich’, and bringing it back to the husband. Another divorce whisky? SGP:333 - 80 points.

I thought we could also have some older ones while we’re at it… Especially since William Grant seem to have just launched a kind of replikka named 'The Original'. Well, actually they call it a recreation, which I find smart(er).

Glenfiddich 8 yo (43° gradi, OB, Straight Malt, Italy, Gancia & C., early 1970s)

Tell me about a legendary bottling! Colour: straw. Nose: nice OBE, with some kind of metallic candle wax and then various cakes and herbal teas. It’s shy and whispering after all those years in glass, but it’s still there. Chamomile, shoe polish, old Sauternes, old papers… ‘Wandering in the attic.’ Mouth: oh great! It’s even punchy, phenolic, ashy, slightly meaty, with a farmy side that’s nowhere to be found in modern Glenfiddich. But that may come from bottle ageing indeed (or glass/metal leaching, whatever) since I used to drink Glenfiddich in the late 1970s, and believe me it was nowhere near this very nice old young thing. Beautiful notes of grapefruit juice with a little soot and wax. Finish: not very long, and certainly not clean. A bit disjointed – which is normal – with something dusty and too cardboardy. But the salty shoe polish in the aftertaste is rather impressive. Kind of. Comments: probably no wonder-among-the-wonders, but it’s certainly fatter and greasier – and more phenolic – spirit than what it is today. Worth chasing at auctions – or flea markets. SGP:352 - 86 points.

Oh and since the oh so very clever Zidane is not here, we could even try to do a little Italy vs. France match…

Glenfiddich 8 yo (43° Gay Lussac, OB, Straight Malt, France, M.B.R. S.A. Bordeaux, early 1970s)

Colour: straw. Nose: ah this is quite different. Smokier, in a way, drier, a little more metallic (more OBE?), grassier as well, and a little less shy. But the styles are extremely similar, beyond that. Very funny after more than 40 years in the bottles – but also, in a way, reassuring. Mouth: same whisky as the ‘Italian’ for a few seconds, and there’s a real peat blast happening. Really, a peat blast! How is that possible? Really, this is a slightly smoother Talisker 10, and I’m not joking. Having said that the background may also be a little too dirty-ish, with quite some ink again, soot, a little burnt eau-de-vie (from an over-heated still – I know what I’m talking about, most sadly.) Finish: longer, peatier, but also, sadly, soapier. Comments: oh no, that was close, but the Italians win in the end. History repeats itself. No, we’ll spare you no cheap philosophy on WF. SGP:353 - 85 points.

Check the index of all Glenfiddich I've tasted so far