Four Glenfiddich Single Malts all under one review – 15yo, 15yo “102”, Glenfiddich 21yo Rum Finish & Snow Phoenix

Speyside region – Four expressions from Glenfiddich.

As I write this post, I am holed up in a hotel room room with my two little girls asleep in a king-sized bed in the next room while my wife and I are cuddled up on our hide-away couch/bed.

You see, we’ve been sort-of victimized by hurricane Irene.

Thank G-d (B”H) we and our family not hurt and our house is damage-free.  I consider us lucky compared to some people I know who’ve had their houses completely flooded; trees down on their houses, etc…  We’re lucky.  We’re only victims of an extended power outage.  Power should be restored sometime next week and once we have power, we’ll have water.  Not to get to graphic but, toilets are only good when they work.  It’s a shitty situation.

I hope and pray that all those affected by the storm can return to normal life ASAP.

So, what to do when you’re finally in a place where you have electricity?  Well, I don’t know about you but, I like to write whisky reviews so that’s what I’m’a doin’ right now.

Special thanks goes out to Heather Greene for the samples of the four Glenfiddichs below.  I had a lot of fun with them and fell in love with two of them!

Enjoy (I did)!
Glenfiddich 15yo Solera – 40%ABV – $35 | £32

On the nose Very woody – more so than I expected from a 15yo whisky such as this.  It’s not a bad thing, just a strong note.  Let’s hope there’s some spice or fruit to balance it out.

Moving on.

Honey and apricots and almond slivers.  Laminated cardboard and a warm… scratch that, hot sauna.

On the mouth Here comes the fruit I was looking for – casaba melon, red pear and red plum.  Honey and spice and a wisp or thread of peat smoke.  Increasingly spicy or, spiced.  Soft and mouth coating yet tannic.

Finish Very dry finish reminiscent of a light yet dry wine.

In sum  I had this whisky a few years back.  Actually, if was my first Glenfiddich and I liked it quite a bit.  Upon a return to it, I didn’t appreciate it as much as I did the first time around.  I think there’s just too much wood it’s a bit too drying for me.  I’d not say no to this if it were offered to me and I may choose it over other whiskies (old 12yo Bunnahabhain 40%ABV, I’m looking at you).  Then again, if I had a choice between a whisky at 40%ABV and a higher or cask strength version, I think I’d pass on this one – give me the Cask Strength version please!  The higher ABV let’s you play with the whisky a little more (adding water & how much?)  Speaking of which… let’s move on, shall we?

Glenfiddich 15yo “102” – 51%ABV – $55 | £40

On the nose Thick, fat, meaty mafia don sherried type nose.  Perhaps some root veggies in there (sugared as it were).  Ginger and nuts.  New sneakers, fresh in the box.  Big and rich raisins still in the cardboard box.

Just an overall pleasing, sherried nose.

On the mouth Pow!  The taste of this stuff is picking up where the nose left off.  Fried walnuts, dirty socks, sour apples and toasted apple skins.  Warm almonds and loads of popsicle sticks (wet and sugary).  Caramel, fudge and hazelnuts – Toffifay!

Oh, yum!

Finish Long with hints of plastic bags, walnuts and graham crackers (graham crackers??  Where’d you come from?)

In sum  It’s nice to taste a Glenifiddich in it’s natural cask strength.  Sort of a rare-ish opportunity to show you what the whisky is like in it’s natural state.  This is one for a late night and a good book or as part of a sherried whisky tasting event.  This’ll hold it’s own for sure!

Glenfiddich 21yo Gran Reserva Caribbean Rum Finish – 40%ABV – $120 | £77

On the nose Snooty college girls puffing on clove cigarettes.  NYC library.

Gobs and gobs of vanilla and a tad (just a tad) of honey mustard.  Black raisins, currant.

On the mouth Massive oak attack.

Tiramasu soaking, even dripping, with rum.  Back to the NYC library (like a warm oaken room).  Burnt sugar.

The mouthfeel is thin but then again, many of the rum cask finished whiskies I’ve had have had a thin mouth feel.

Finish Long and sweet with wine soaked grapes.  Buttery and oaky

In sumA lovely grouping of flavors and a nice little ride but, similar to the 15yo bottled at 40%, I really think this stuff would benefit from a higher ABV and no chill filtration.  Very nice smell and flavor-wise (great balance) but slightly…tired and I did not care for the mouth feel.

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix – 47.6%ABV – $89 | £93

On the nose Big bright and rambunctious nose.  This is like the Pippy Longstockings of whisky.

Very fruity, slightly tropical but more like super fresh and sugared pears with a cinnamon dusting.  Light hay, honey, buttermilk biscuits.  What most notable about this whisky is just how lively and inviting it is.

Just a joy.

On the mouth Great malty attack with bursts of that initial sweetness/fruitiness I got on the nose.  Spicy, lemony (though not sour in anyway, very, very sweet).  Raisins in Reisling.  Incredibly fizzy and lively – this stuff just dances on your tongue.

There’s a slight off-note in here, like the rind or pith of a fruit.  Forget what I said about no sour note, it’s there (though integrated quite well).

A mere hint or thread of smoke in here (perhaps a wood effect?)

Finish Interestingly woody, long and spicy.

In sum  I’ve had many a ‘fiddich but few, if any, I found to be as lively and engaging as this one.  This will cure the summertime blues (forget what those guys say, there is a cure!).  I hope this experiment is one that the folks a Glenfiddich can use to help gauge what an additional direction for Glenfiddich could be.   I’ll be singing the glories of this whisky for some time to come…

The start of Glenglassaugh’s new limited range “The Chosen Few” is launched!

Regular readers of the blog know that I rarely post press releases.  Sadly, for me, there are too many of them and too little time.  Maybe someday I’ll figure out a way to release more industry news but, until then, I will post when I can and will try to focus on the ones I find would be most striking to my audience (or to me).

Why am I posting this one about Glenglassaugh’s “The Chosen Few” range?  Well:

A) I love Glenglassaugh, that’s no secret.

B) I had the privilege and honor of interviewing Glenglassaugh’s Managing Director, Stuart Nickerson (a great guy, by the way).

The first bottle in "The Chosen Few" series - Ronnie chose a damn fine cask of whisky - 35yo Sherry cask. That's me and Ronnie (left and right, respectively) from the most recent JSMWS tour of Scotland.

C) When looking to name this series of single cask bottlings, Ronnie Routledge posted a contest on the Friends of Glenglassaugh Facebook page looking for a name for the series and yours truly (that’s me, Joshua Hatton, by the way) picked the winning name:  The Chosen Few.

So, as you can see, I have a personal attachment to this story.

Now, without further ado or adon’t, Glenglassaugh’s “The Chosen Few” (plus details on the Glenglassaugh visitor center refurbishment):

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Glenglassaugh Distillery, Portsoy.  25 August 2011.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

•    Glenglassaugh distillery’s “Chosen Few” launches
•    Visitor centre refurbishment under way

Glenglassaugh distillery at Portsoy on the picturesque Moray firth coast proudly announce the release of the first bottling from their “Chosen Few” series of single cask expressions. The Chosen Few series, explains Ronnie Routledge, Customer Account Manager for Glenglassaugh, allowed our team, based here at the distillery, the opportunity to sample various casks from our small portfolio to discover his or her favourite cask of Glenglassaugh Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky and get the once-in-a-lifetime experience of having it bottled with their own name on the label.

The team of ten have each given an indication of which whisky they would like to bottle and we will release these over the next 2 – 3 years. Some of them are carefully watching casks of spirit which we distilled and laid down after re-opening the distillery in November 2008 and anxiously wait for them to mature into whisky, while others prefer the greatly aged Glenglassaugh whiskies. “I was very privileged to be asked to choose the first release which is one of the finest single malts I have ever tasted and I’ve tried an awful lot”, says Routledge who is well known in the whisky industry, is a “Keeper of the Quaich” and ex whisky judge. “This particular expression delivers everything I look for in well-balanced single malts: complexity, depth, tropical fruit in abundance, chocolate and good sherry character, balanced perfectly with oak spice”.

Stuart and Ronnie - proudly showing off the first bottle in "The Chosen Few" series

This very limited expression of only 654 bottles is from a 1976 vintage sherry butt, bottled at 35 years old at a natural strength of 49.6% abv and is available through all good whisky stockists with a RRP of £299.99. “It was quite an honour and privilege to be presented with bottle number # 2 from the release, it almost felt like a lifetime achievement award” said Routledge.

The team at Glenglassaugh are also busy renovating their new dedicated visitor centre which they are determined to open before the end of 2011 to coincide with the release of their very first single malt, distilled since the new owners took over in 2008 after a closed spell of 22 years. “Distillery tours at the moment are by appointment only so it will be great to have proper facilities in place for the many visitors who make a pilgrimage to Glenglassaugh and expand on what we are currently offering”, explains Stuart Nickerson, MD for Glenglassaugh distillery. “The Banffshire region as a whole will benefit from Glenglassaugh’s visitor centre and attract thousands of tourists into the area each year”.

Glenglassaugh has a range of whisky available from 26 years of age to a 45 year old and more information on these and how to purchase them as well as your very own 50 litre Octave cask can be found on the distillery website www.glenglassaugh.com.

The company also has a range of Spirit Drinks and more information on these can be found on www.thespiritdrink.com.

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Update by the JSMWS:  You can find the first bottle of The Chosen Few HERE and HERE (to be released in September sometime).

1981 Glenmorangie Pride

Highland region – 56.7%ABV – $2699 | £2500 (limited to 1000 bottles)

Yes, yes, I know… the bottle looks like something off of Sephora’s website.  And yes, I’m sure LVMH could have saved a £50-60 (maybe more) putting the whisky into a slightly simpler vessel.

I’m not posting here to talk about the whys & whatfors of corporate marketing.  Yes, I do work in sales & marketing and I understand the whys & whatfors but I’d prefer to focus on the liquid that Dr. Bill Lumsden created, not what the good folks at LVMH have cracked up to sell the stuff – as smart and fancy as it is.

Glenmorangie Pride 1981 is a 28yo whisky that was aged for 18 years in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and then extra-matured exclusively in Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes casks for an additional 10 years before being bottled at 56.7% ABV.  Sounds sexy to me!

Color Deep gold with tints of green (I don’t always mention color but this is some attractive fluid!)

On the nose  Thick jams (quince and even some fig).  Black strap molasses and ginger snap cookies (spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon).  Sweet, sweet marzipan.

Damp and earthy.  Man, I am taken by this nose.  This juice demands your attention.  Part of me doesn’t even want to dissect it, I just want to enjoy it as a whole.

But carry on, I will…

The Glenmorangie character is strong here and will not be ignored: Think citrus zest and even some peach; thoroughly ripe and juicy peach.

Walnut oil and even a bit of sauternes-drown golden raisin.

Vanilla extract and in the distance, toasted oak and almonds.

Coming back to the nose after a sip and there’s a very noticeable high lemon note just floating on top of it all.

On the mouth Thick and insanely mouth coating – it’s invading every part of my mouth (like that scene in The Matrix where the liquid metal is taking over Keanu Reeves’ body until it goes down his throat).

Sticky sweet jams (like the ones mentioned above).  A touch of citrus but not as much as on the nose.

Creamy, creamy but also a bit like thick honey when it starts to crystalize (tiny, tiny sugar crystals throughout the honey).

Speaking of honey, this stuff oozes with it.

Warm apricot jam over toasted almonds.

As the fluid starts to go from juicy sweet to drying on to the finish, booze soaked oak notes round out the flavor experience.

Finish Long, drying, warm; and sitting like a king on the top/back portion of my tongue is the actual sauternes itself – apricots, peach, nuts and woody tannins.  After a short bit, an interesting watermelon note popped up followed but some of that lemon note I got on the nose.

In sum I can see why Dr. Bill Lumsden refers to this whisky as his “Pride”.  If this whisky were a college bound student, she would have full scholarships to the Ivy League school of her choosing.  This is so balanced, so well constructed and thoroughly enjoyable.  Pride is as full and robust as it gets (without peat or sherry).

I come back to this over and over again, Sauternes finishes are my absolute favorite.  Done right (like this whisky here), and it’s light years ahead of nearly any sherried whisky I’ve had.

There are only 1000 bottles of this stuff on G-d’s green earth and if you can find & afford one, I won’t say no; I’d accept the gift very graciously :).  However, if you decided to keep the stuff for yourself, I would not blame you at all.

I will suggested, however, that you open this for the most celebratory of occasions but what’s more is that you NEED to open this.  Don’t just buy and collect because NOT tasting this stuff (if you have the $$ to afford it) is doing yourself an injustice.

Huge thanks goes out to David Blackmore for the sample!

Talisker 57 North – this stuff is crack-a-lackin’!

Islands – 57%ABV – 700ml bottle – £49 (sadly, this whisky is not readily available in the US so you’ll have to go to your favorite UK whisky shop or pick it up in a duty-free shop where it’s sold in 1L bottles!)

Looking through all of my reviews I noticed that I’ve only reviewed one Talisker to date and that’d be the Talisker 18.

Being that I’m headed there next week I figured I’d change that and right quick!

This Talisker started out, if memory serves, as a duty-free exclusive bottling but due to popularity made its way to UK shelves.  Now, I say “if memory serves” because this whisky was released a couple of years ago.  That being said, I think I’m the last whisky reviewer on earth to review it.

Better late than never!

On the nose –  Is there such a thing as vanilla lemonade?

Loads of citrus and pepper, black pepper.

Salty sea spray on a late autumn morning while fishing for blues – this one is really bringing about some nice memories.

Nice round peaty smokey notes and a load of seaweed.

On the mouth Oily and very *round* in flavor and a bit effervescent as well.

Nothing on the front of the tongue but the top and sides of the tongue are getting some great notes of lemon pastries and pineapple danish.

Oak and apples with still more salt (kosher-type, not sea salt) and delicious peat.

This is a very nice Talisker, tasty through and through.

Finish The fizz continues as does some smoke and lemon.

In sum Like most Taliskers I’ve had, this is just plain lovely.  An easy every day drinker for me… if it were easily available in the US.

Nicely balanced, thoroughly delicious and wholly Talisker.  There’s not mistaking it.

Special thanks goes out to David H for the sample (I think you gave it to me, it was a while ago!)