#1 - Glenfiddich 30 Year old - (Wooden boxed version)

So some people say save the best for last... Those that know me know that I don't really follow convention... So to convention, I will flip you the bird!

Welcome to my first review, and what better way to start than with an amazing whisky from possibly the most famous Scottish distillery in the world, Glenfiddich.

When you mention Glenfiddich to the average joe or even the seasoned pub goer, you will always elicit a response of "oh I've heard of that" or "Isn't that one of the best?" and to that my response is always, it sure is one of the best. It really is, and for so many reasons. I'll try and name a few further on, if you dare read.

Call me a fan-boy, or a Glenfiddich groupie, but I absolutely love the stuff. I'm yet to have a bad one (I'm sure there is plenty of whiskies from every distillery that miss the mark)  I've currently got about 15 bottles of different types of Glenfiddich, and all have their own character, but all are still that typical delicious fruity speyside that is Glenfiddich Single Malt Whisky.

I must mention, that Whisky is a happy thing. Think about it for a second, when you get that new bottle of single malt... You pull it out of the box or case... and for the most part they are all presented amazingly yet all differently with little blurb's about the distillery they come from, the water they use to make it, the history of the area, the types of cask etc.


For me personally, the presentation and the bottle itself says a lot about the character of the whisky inside the bottle. I always carefully prepare the bottle before I pour a glass... Making sure that the foil is neatly cut or peeled and that any dust is wiped off... to let the mighty bottle of malty goodness glisten in the light and shine through! It's good fun, and I feel shows respect to the people who have crafted it. Yes, crafted it. Not Made it. Whisky is part science, part art. It's crafted.

Whisky is a sharing thing, and in good company good whisky makes good memories.

I recently was married to my amazing wife, and before the wedding my four groomsmen presented me with an amazing gift. A bottle of Glenfiddich 30 Years old, Beautifully presented in a wooden case with maroon leather (albeit I think it is pleather) and a little booklet. I was pretty dumbstruck. four of my best friends in the world had just given me one of the most amazing gifts. We all straight away shared a dram... and what a dram of whisky!


Firstly, the colour is quite dark and has the typical orangey bourbon style colour to it. after rolling it around the Glencairn glass (which I'll go all into depth for the Noobies in another rant....er....post) it's still quite oily. The legs are quite thick, so its definitely not too high in the alcohol percentage, and the tears are quite thick and slow. A nice oily looking whisky.

Next onto the Nose. Now I'm by no means an expert sniffer unlike our late sista Whitney H ( too soon? ) but this whisky really needs a lot of nosing to get all of the amazing aromas from the glass. You get the Oak of course, but definitely not overpowering. Next you can get the grapes... honestly its like a fresh crushed grape, mixed in with a trifle like my mother in law makes. As soon as I put my nose in the glass, Trifle, sherry, fruit. This is going to be AWESOME!

Palate ( The taste. I don't quite know why it's referred to as a palate, as I thought the Palate was the roof of your mouth.. shouldn't it be called the tongue? Seriously. ) Straight away you get the Sherry influence, Vanilla, Spices, Dried fruits, and a slight bit of salty bitter dark chocolate towards the finish. It's quite outstanding really. Every mouthful is like there are little whisky droplets hugging your tastebuds. Amazing!

The finish is long and fruity. Not overly dry, and definitely keeps on staying and staying. The longer aged whiskies tend to mostly have longer finishes. I believe its due to the more volatile alcohols and congeners evaporating or mellowing out over the huge amount of years in cask.

The balance is to me near perfection. I think a little bit of extra sweetness up front to balance out the bitterness would have worked perfectly, but hey.. taste is subjective and this is pretty damn extraordinary.

What would I rate it? Amazing. I'm not getting into any kind of points system, because I personally believe its too hard to rate a whisky out of 100 given the weight things like mood, company, foods eaten etc. all have on the overall experience. Instead I'm going to give an overall one word rating.


Glenfiddich 30 years old: Amazing.

So there you have it. Please go out and buy a bottle, your mouth will thank you. Every little taste bud on your tongue will be enjoying itself and thanking the whisky as it goes by. You owe it to yourself.

-Dave


Glenfiddich 30 Years old (older wooden box)
700 ml Bottle, 43% abv 
Reviewed 09 May 2012.