Whisky Review: Glenfiddich 15 Year Distillery Edition (2013)

Glenfiddich's Distillery Edition has gone through a few phases - first released in the 1990s, it disappeared until the 2000s when it was reintroduced. It has been produced regularly since then, but the bottle itself went through a refresh some years ago, while the liquid inside has nominally stayed the same.

While superficially similar to the standard 15 Year from Glenfiddich, the DE is composed from a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks married together, instead of the solera system of the standard 15 Year, and bottled at 51% without chill filtration.

Thanks to Michael Kravitz for this sample.

Glenfiddich 15 Year Distillery Edition (2013)

Nose: fresh honied malt, light fruity sherry, raspberry/blueberry, a touch of chocolate, floral vanilla, a little mint/pine. After adding a few drops of water the sherry gets kind of sour and washes out most of the other components.

Taste: mildly sweet up front, undergirding malt throughout, sherry roundness balanced with moderate oak starting around the middle, a little mint at the back. After dilution it gets a little bit softer with much more sherry influence and expanded oak, while the mint slides in behind the oak at the back and gives more vegetal character going into the finish.

Finish: sherry residue, light chocolate-y oak, dry malt, a touch of chili pepper and mint, a little drying

While my perception of this whisky has changed significantly since I first tried it more than five years ago, it remains the one and only Glenfiddich I would buy with my own money. It reminds me a lot of Balvenie Doublewood or Founder's Reserve, with the moderate sherry influence over clean Speyside malt, but with much more presence from the higher bottling proof and lack of chill filtration. And considering the price inflation from its sister distillery Balvenie's releases, Glenfiddich DE has remained rather reasonable given its age and strength (compare to Balvenie 12 Year Single Cask, which is younger and lower proof for about the same money). While I wouldn't call it flashy, this is a solid malt at a respectable price if you can get your hands on it. Quite a shame that Glenfiddich's importer has stopped bringing it to the States, so our only chance will be in duty free shops abroad.

Whisky Review: Glenfiddich Special Reserve 12 Year (2002)

Glenfiddich is, well, Glenfiddich. The best selling single malt in Scotland pumps out volume like almost no one else, though Glenlivet is certainly trying to give them a run for their money.

This version of their 12 Year was bottled in 2002, back when practically no one cared about single malt and the current boom was practically unimaginable. Then as now it was bottled at 40%, almost certainly with coloring and chill filtration.

Thanks to Michael Kravitz for the sample.

Glenfiddich Special Reserve 12 Year

Nose: ranges from almost non-existent to moderate weight - light honied malt, slightly dank sherry, a little fruit (apples, pears, oranges), a touch of something floral/soapy - that are all difficult to pull out. After adding a few drops of water it opens up with more floral notes and more sherry.

Taste: moderate malt sweetness with a bit of sherried roundness, a little sour in the middle, floral overtones throughout, more grain than oak bitterness at the back, and a feeling of tired casks throughout. After dilution the sweetness becomes more cane sugar, the malt becomes drier, some fruit (apples, pears) comes out, and the floral notes are amplified.

Finish: sherry residue, light malt, a touch of oak-y bitterness

For all the depth of stock Glenfiddich was presumably sitting on in 2002, there doesn't appear to be any older, more complex whisky in here. Honestly, it's pretty remarkable how similar this is to their current bottles, which, if you want to look at it that way, speaks highly of their master blender's abilities. So while this was interesting as a curiosity, it is mostly forgettable.

Does Glassware Really Make a Difference?

It's a debate as old as whisk(e)y connoisseurship: does the glass you're drinking out of actually make a difference in how the spirit tastes? There's a fairly solid consensus that the standard rocks glass/tumbler doesn't help much if you want to get details. The volatile compounds that make up the smells become too diffuse and it's hard to pick up specific attributes. However, there is currently a wide array of specialized glassware on the market right now which all purports to provide a better and more nuanced experience. I've managed to pick up a few things here and there and became curious to find out whether or not there were actually significant differences between them.

My procedure was fairly simple: each glass was filled with 0.5 oz of spirit, covered for a few minutes, then sampled. I tried this with two different spirits that I have previously reviewed - Eagle Rare bourbon and Glenfiddich Distiller's Edition. I sampled each spirit in its own session, trying to keep reasonably consistency each time. However, this is far from a true scientific sampling as it was impossible to do so blind and I'm sure I have some biases. However, it was still an interesting and enlightening experience.

Arran Gift Set Glass

Eagle Rare

Nose: caramel riding over mild, sweet, fresh oak, hints of berries

Taste: lightly sweet/sour up front, clarifies into creamy caramel, oak, pepper, and a hint of fruit near the finish

Glenfiddich DE

Nose: slightly dry and musty, light fruity/malt sweetness, fairly prominent alcohol, light oak, hint of chocolate and vanilla, creamy, briny, peat

Taste: very strong malt/sherry/chocolate sweetness, mild bitter/pepper at the back, slightly briny

This glass comes from the Arran 10 YO Gift Set, which I picked up earlier this year. The shape is very similar to the Glencairn tulip, which gives a significant amount of surface area for volatile compounds to evaporate, which are then concentrated by the narrower neck of the glass. It's become my standard tasting glass, especially for minis, because its ideal fill point is ~0.75 oz, which lets me get two solid tastings out of a mini.

Goodwill Angular Glass

Eagle Rare

Nose: vague caramel, little oak, more alcohol, a hint of rye grain, honey, chocolate

Taste: flatter, a little drier, more rye

Glenfiddich DE

Nose: balanced malt/fruity sherry, greenish/sour malt, a bit of chocolate

Taste: balanced malt sugar/fruity sweetness, bittersweet chocolate at the back, medium pepper

This is one of two tasting glasses I found at Goodwill a few months ago. Sadly I can't find much information about it, but it was only a dollar, so I figured I'd see how it went. Sadly I found that it didn't work particularly well, though that might not be the case with other spirits.




Goodwill Rounded Glass

Eagle Rare

Nose: pineapple, caramel, oak, subtle rye grain, bread

Taste: fairly sweet up front, then some sour oak and big pepper, mint in the finish

Glenfiddich DE

Nose: sour malt, very subdued sherry fruitiness, floral, oaky chocolate

Taste: sweetness is sherry-driven up front, great oloroso flavors, sour malt comes in mid-palate, creamy chocolate

This was another Goodwill find. Like the first, its ideal fill point is 0.5 oz. I found that this one worked better, giving a full, clear nose and palate from a rather small pour. While I'm rarely interested in such small pours, it may come in handy if I ever order dram samples from Master of Malt, which are only 30 mL. This glass would let me split them in two without feeling like I was getting an incomplete experience each time.

Vinoteque Snifter

Eagle Rare

Nose: grassier, green fruits, fresher, less caramel and oak, hints of sweet rye grain, bready

Taste: very sweet, sugary all the way through, still fresh, big pepper fades quickly, a hint of bitter oak, very subdued caramel

Glenfiddich DE

Nose: malty/floral, light but rich sherry, chocolate, subtle pepper

Taste: intense sugar/malt/fruit/sherry sweetness carries through, floral mid-palate, chocolate big pepper near the finish

This was the first proper tasting glass I ever bought and has been used in a number of my reviews. The ideal fill point is ~1 oz, which makes it a bit bigger than any of the previous glasses. The tulip shape is even more exaggerated than the Arran glass and it seems to do a very good job. I find it to be a good all-around tasting glass as it's big enough for some more extended dramming, but small enough that smaller pours aren't swallowed.

Copita

Eagle Rare

Nose: caramel-focused, a lot of alcohol, a hint of rye

Taste: sugary sweetness throughout, some musty oak and rye, a hint of chocolate

Glenfiddich DE

Nose: malty, a hint of sherry, leafy vegetables, slightly musty/dusty

Taste: brighter, more intense sweetness + lighter sherry, bitter chocolate/wood/oak and pepper near the back

This was another Goodwill find. While it's a classic design and works well for sherry, it doesn't seem to be ideal for whisk(e)y, especially in terms of the nose. Some of that may just be that it needs a heavier pour to work well, but I'm rarely drinking that much at once.



Glencairn

Eagle Rare

Nose: alcohol is prominent, light but balanced caramel, oak, and rye grain

Taste: caramel sweetness, light grain, oak, pepper, sweet/dusty near the back

Glenfiddich DE

Nose: hints of sherry and vegetal peat, very light sweetness, chocolate raisins, underlying malt

Taste: sharp acidic sweetness/sherry up front, malt, pepper, and peat further back, some chocolate

The glencairn glass is the standard for whisky tasting. It's ideal fill point is ~1.5 oz, which makes it significantly bigger than any other glass tested than the copita. It doesn't seem to work as well with small pours, so I'll stick to using it when I want a healthier dram.


While I won't draw too many firm conclusions, I'm willing to say that I think glassware does make a difference. I'd need to retest them in a random order to see if the trends are consistent, because my tastebuds may have been getting fatigued after half a dozen pours (however small they may have been).  The biggest thing I'm willing to say is that if you want to do very close examinations of taste and smell, it's worthwhile to get different sizes of tulip-shaped glasses. You want to be able to pour to the widest part of the glass for maximum surface area (especially when nosing) and its likely there will be times when you want to drink more or less at a time.

Whisky Review: Glenfiddich Vertical Tasting

Much like the Balvenies I tried recently, I picked up a three pack of Glenfiddich miniatures over the holidays. I'll reiterate the point I made then that I feel like more distillers should be putting out these kinds of sample packs because it provides a very economical way for people to try their whiskies, especially the older end of their standard ranges. This gets people to try whiskies that they might otherwise stay away from due to cost and will probably encourage them to buy full bottles that they wouldn't otherwise be willing to take the risk of buying. Glenfiddich pulls out all of the stops with the packaging of these minis, producing custom bottles and giving each one a miniature version of the cardboard tube that the full size bottles come in. There's a reason this was put on shelves around Christmas and it is definitely a classy setup if you want to give this set as a gift. But with that said, here are my thoughts about each whisky.

Glenfiddich 12 Year


Nose: pleasantly malty, honey, citrus, apple skins, a touch of raspberries and sherry, which becomes a bit sweeter with a bit of brown sugar and maple syrup after a couple of drops of water

Taste: not very sweet up front, sour malt mid-palate, becoming cleaner malt with a bit of pepper and sherry going into the finish

Finish: slightly bitter peat, malt, pepper and sherry

It's unsurprising that this is one of the best selling single malts in the world. It presents bits and pieces of very classic Speyside single malts, with emphasis on the malt and light sherry influence. Being bottled at 40%, it goes down easy and doesn't present the drinker with anything challenging. With that said, if you prefer more robust whiskies, the 12 Year will be somewhat disappointing. Except for the malt flavors, everything is extremely light and it often felt like I had to hunt for it. At the same time, it is rather pleasant and wouldn't be out of place in a situation where you want something to drink that won't be a distraction.

Glenfiddich 15 Year


Nose: more sherry-driven, with raisins and a bit of chocolate, a strong red wine note at first, which fades with time, and a bit of malt, which becomes maltier and weaker after dilution

Taste: not very sweet up front, malt and light sherry mid-palate, with sourness and dry cacao going into the finish, which becomes sweeter and more malty with less sherry presence after adding a few drops of water

Finish: bitter chocolate with a bit of peat and malt

I had fairly high hopes for the 15 year. I really enjoyed the similarly aged Glenfiddich Distillery Edition, which was real knock-out. The standard 15 year bottling is touted as being enriched by solera-style aging, where barrels are dumped into a large vat, about half the contents are withdrawn for bottling, then more whisky is dumped to top off the vat. Theoretically this should provide a heady mix of whiskies that are aged for a minimum of 15 years and who knows what upper bound. It can even be a good deal, if you look in the right places. However, I have a feeling that the low bottling strength of 40% betrays all of the work that goes into making the whisky before it is bottled. While richer and more obviously sherry-influenced than the 12 year, it still feels a bit tepid. I would love to try the 15 year bottled around 100-proof, at which point I'm guessing it would probably shine. Instead I will content myself with my bottles of the Distillery Edition and dream of what the regular 15 year could be.

Glenfiddich 18 Year


Nose: a hefty dose of oak, orange marmalade, a bit of sherry lurking underneath, malt and chocolate oranges, which becomes lighter with more malt and less sherry and oak after dilution

Taste: not too sweet up front, a burst of sherry and cacao mid-palate, segueing into heavier oak tannins near the finish, which becomes malty sweet up front, with sherry, raisins and apples, then astringent oak after adding a few drops of water

Finish: malty sweetness, then the oak returns, bringing some peat with it

The 18 year is definitely the stand out of the bunch, which, you know, given the age and price, one would hope so. It clearly shows its age by the healthy oak smells and flavors throughout the experience. Additionally, it's generally more robust because of its 43% bottling strength. Even with all that said, I don't think I'll be buying a full bottle, even at $57. For one, I feel like the oak influence is a little too in your face, trying a bit too hard like a teenager insisting "No, really, I'm old enough!" I've got to wonder if this is an intentional move to assure buyers that they're really getting an older whisky. While there are some nice things going on, the bottling proof is still a bit on the low side (please, 46% at least!) and a bit less emphasis on the oak tannins could let the other elements shine. Give me that whisky at sixty bucks and it'd be in my liquor cabinet already.

So with all that said, I can't really fault Glenfiddich. They do what they do for a reason and it brings them in an awful lot of money. If you're new to scotch whisky, the 12 Year is a totally reasonable choice to ease yourself in. I might also suggest Glenmorangie 10 Year, which is about the same price but offers a lot of the same flavors in a slightly more robust form, or even Balvenie Doublewood. For an alternative to the 15 Year, give Arran 10 or the aforementioned Glenfiddich Distillery Edition a try. But while the Glenfiddichs aren't quite to my taste, this tri-pack is definitely worth a buy if you can find it. At ~$15, it's a nice and rather inexpensive way to do a vertical tasting for one or two people.

Whisky Review: Glenfiddich Distillery Edition

This is an expression which was a limited bottling from Glenfiddich that is becoming harder to find now that it is no longer one being shipped to the U.S. This whisky was in a sense a re-release of the Distillery Edition bottled in the 1990s when it was a fairly radical departure from the norm for scotch whisky. Similar to their normal 15 year bottling, the malts going into it were aged in both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks made from both American and European oak for 15 years then blended together. The difference comes from using a more standard aging and blended system (the normal Glenfiddich 15 is aged using a solera system) and the fact that it is brought down from cask strength to a still very healthy 102-proof without chill filtration.

Glenfiddich Distillery Edition 102

Nose: orange peel, subdued sherry, a touch of malty chocolate, oak, raisins, subtle mint, and vegetal peat, with the sherry moving forward and the addition of brown sugar after adding a bit of water

Taste: brief jam and honey syrupy sweetness up front, quick transition to chili pepper and light peat leading into orange chocolate, which becomes more intense orange blossom honey sweetness up front, giving way to pepper and malt, with peat beginning near the end and some mocha throughout when water is added

Finish: long and malty, with chili pepper and raisins, peat and mocha, which all diminishes a bit more quickly after adding water

This whisky took me a little while to figure out because the vegetal peat flavors are a bit of a new thing to me. At first it seemed to me like a peculiar addition to an otherwise slightly standard array of lightly sherried Speyside single malt flavors. However once I figured out what I was tasting, I realized that it made a very nice counterpoint to the richer, sweeter flavors imparted by its long time in barrels.

I was lucky enough to find a bottle of this whisky on sale for only $30 (Thanks, WSLCB!). Even at the more standard price of $60 it's still a pretty good deal for a 15-Year whisky, as those can easily run into the $70-80 range. Additionally, the higher proof here means that it will probably last a bit longer as it encourages you to drink just a little more slowly without having too much of a burn. I would definitely recommend this whisky if you want a very solid scotch with enough strength and engaging flavors to keep you occupied. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, it's not something that will be easy to find in America any time soon, so get some while you still can.