Glenfiddich Distillery Edition

Glenfiddich Distillery Edition
Single Speyside malt Scotch whisky
51% alc/vol
$50

Picked this one up a while back because I love Glenfiddich, I'd never seen it before, and the price was right. Apparently, it's a re-branding of the Glenfiddich 15yo Cask Strength, which I never had.

Heavy on the sherry; vanilla and brown sugar abound. But dilute it with water (generally a good idea; it's cask strength, you realize) there's some trademark Glenfiddich pear lurking underneath. Fruity and warm. A little peppery? Yes. Opens up after a little time in the glass with some spice. A very pleasant drink, and not at all expensive for what it is. I'd put it right up there with the Macallan Cask Strength and the Aberlour a'bunadh.

And with that, I realize I'm about done with heavily-sherried Scotches for a while. I love how they taste, but it can be so hard to get past the sweet syrupiness to get to the unique, interesting bits. And that's the part of tasting that I love the most. I think I'd rather have an interesting Scotch that doesn't particularly appeal to me than a delicious one that's just more sherry sherry sherry.

Who knows...maybe I'm just burned out. I'll probably come around this autumn. Colder months just call for the warming quality sherried whiskey exhibits.

The Macallan Cask Strength

The Macallan Cask Strength
Single Speyside malt Scotch whisky
No age statement (but apparently aged 10-12 years*)
58.6% alc/vol
$60

This is the second Macallan I've reviewed on this blog -- and one of my favorites so far. This one is cask strength, which means it was not diluted with water before being bottled, as most whiskies are. Thus, while most Scotches are 40-46% alc/vol, this big guy weighs in at a hefty 58.6% (116 proof)!

Keep this in mind when drinking cask strength whiskies. The high alcohol content means you should drink it more sparingly than usual, so you don't get sloppy drunk (unless that's your goal, of course!). It also means you should be careful when nosing and tasting it, since it can numb your sense of smell and taste, and inhaling its vapors deeply can be uncomfortable or even painful. If you usually like to dilute your whisky before nosing it, dilute this one a bit more; if you don't usually dilute it, seriously consider doing so for this one.

Oh, and I should also note that this is the USA/Canada bottling, rather than the 10yo cask strength bottling available elsewhere in the world.

Notes:

The Macallan Cask Strength is a lovely brown sherry color. The nose bursts with brown sugar, subsiding into strong vanilla and caramel notes. Bananas Foster and baked apples.

It's very sweet. Creamy, thick, and sharp in the mouth; numbing. Cola. The finish is long, dry, and tingly. Oatmeal scotchies and cinnamon.

This is one of my favorite dessert Scotches. It's sweet, rich, and deeply satisfying. My bottle's almost dry, but I'll definitely pick up another. So should you.

What are you still doing here? The liquor store's still open. Get!

* Michael Jackson's Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch, p. 357.