The Spirit World

Glenfiddich has announced that the bottling of this year’s Vintage Reserve has now been completed.

Distilled and laid down for maturation in 1977, the Glenfiddich has made every one of its 31 years count to be carefully selected for bottling by the panel, who met each of the craftsmen during the selection process.

Glenfiddich Malt Master, David Stewart, who oversaw the whisky’s creation, is the industry’s longest serving Head Cooper, Don Ramsay, repaired and prepared the Oloroso sherry butt (cask) prior to filling on 7th March 1977 while Head Warehouseman Eric Stephen, who was on hand to draw the samples, has been responsible for ensuring the cask’s condition has remained intact and secure.  The trio has been working together at the distillery for more than 45 years.

Cask number 4414, a European sherry butt, was chosen from a shortlist of six by the Vintage Reserve selection panel  (Erkin Touzmohametov (Russia), Walter Schobert (Germany), Gavin Smith (UK) and Jimmy Bradley (USA) ), led by David Stewart.  Bottled at 54.1% ABV, the exclusive edition is limited to just 482 bottles worldwide.

David Stewart’s Tasting Notes:
Colour - Dark amber
Nose - A rich and complex aroma with deep, sherry notes (raisins, dates, sultanas) and a beautiful oaky sweetness. Addition of a little water releases a vibrant spicy character with hints of vanilla, butterscotch and polished leather.
Taste - A wonderful balance of rich oak notes and sweet, fruity spice. Initially very intense with lots of oak tannin and mouth-coating wood flavour. After a few minutes a subtle vanilla sweetness and gentle fruity character develops (baked apple, rhubarb, ripe pears). The layers of flavour continue to unfold over a very long period meandering from oak to sweet to fruity to spicy and back again.
Finish - Very long and lingering with a warm, sweet afterglow.
I think it is one of those - if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it - type of things.