Glenfiddich 12
Alc. 40%
Bottle:
dark green triangular prism with rounded edges. The label is graced with a buck; a male deer and under that is printed ‘special reserve’.
Nose:
pear blossoms and flower petals, light honey scents with some gnarly oak. Possibly a little spirit. Great sensation of malted barley. Some sour oil and a light pine scent.
Palate:
Peppery apples and malt with a light beery taste. Light olive oil in the mix before some sourness and loads of white peppercorns. Theres a touch of smoke and I find this makes my mouth wet.
Overall score: 78
Not recommended. Try the famous 15, or 18.
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Glenfiddich 14 rich oak
Alc. 40%
Bottle:
Same triangular prism in a clear bottle. The label is the pretty much consistent with the other brand family, but this sports a pumpkin or burnt orange color label to it. attractive and sexy.
Nose:
The barley/wood marriage is well balanced here. Obvious wafts of pears, apple and lilacs, paired with a surprising red berry quality. Red currants, cherry and grape skins, watermelon rind, toffee and loads of vanilla and sawdust. A touch of coffee to round out the bass notes.
Palate:
Apple strudel dusted with pepper and vanilla. After swallowing, the red fruits evolve to a jelly roll spiked with nutmeg and allspice. Some pleasing heavy notes like coffee and chocolate appear, but are very faint. Fades of with black pepper and toffee. Some floral notes to the finish. Very, very smooth.
Overall:
This is lightyears ahead of the flagship glenfiddich 12. Excellent. Chewy.
score: 89
Please note:
Glenfiddich commonly uses the host method when making their whisky. this time it’s completely safe and sanitary. They have a large marrying vat that holds old batches of whisky and they add the newest batch to it, let it marry and mingle before they send it off to be bottled. The vat never empties and carries the evolved whisky in with the new so that there’s always that consistency. It’s a cool trick, when it’s done right.
The green bottle 12 year old is the worlds top selling single malt and unofficially the worlds most regarded ‘first scotch experience’ bottle. Impressive accolades.
The 14 year old glenfiddich is finished in virgin American and Spanish oak for up to 12 weeks, respectively to impart some assertive vanillin and ripe fruity profile.
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