Glenfiddich 15 year old

Let's just begin by stating that we weren't too impressed with the Glenfiddich 12 year old. That along with Glenlivet and Glenmorangie are what we consider the best known single malts out there, you can pretty much pick them up at any liquor store and they are fairly reasonably priced. They're starter single malts for people who want to experiment with the idea. Glenfiddich 12 year old is alright, sort of boring and simple, so it's our least favourite. It's meant to appeal to a large group of people... the larger a group of people become the more collectively stupid they are. At least that's our opinion.

However, the boring and bland ends with the 15 year old. It was quite a surprise for us. We were pretty pleased and it's good to see that Glenfiddich has treated the 15 year with an extra touch to improve it in wonderful ways. Yes, start out with the 12 year old, they seem to say, but when you're ready to spend a little more for a better experience then move onto the 15 year old. The 15 year old is matured in American bourbon, Portuguese sherry and virgin oak. The whisky is then mellowed in a solera vat before being married in Portuguese oak tuns. We approve of these extra steps. It definitely adds something wonderful and gives it the complexity that the 12 year was lacking. It's only 40%, which is a little disappointing, but is something we'd expect from a big brand that wants to be available in all markets. They mention nothing about non-chill filtering or caramel colour so you should almost expect it to be chill filtered and a little colour added. It definitely looks that way, which is too bad.

It starts out, without any water, strong in a scent of sherry that dominates the other smells; oak, vanilla and toffee.

Adding water really opens up the smells, and you get a burst of apples and pears. The sherry drops from being dominate, while vanilla and chocolate mix with sweet caramel, and a little hint of oak.

The palate is smooth with a warm spicy feel, and then comes on the chocolate... so good, some orange and caramel sweetness fill your mouth with pleasure.

The finish gets all buttery and creamy, with vanilla and oak, and when everything fades you're left with a mouth that continues to taste a delicious creamy chocolate and oak.

It's quite decadent and delicious. A truly pleasurably experience.

Our hint of the day: We really think you should let you glass sit for a while once you're done whatever whiskey you're drinking and when all the liquid pools at the bottom, drink that last one drop. This would be the worst idea in the world if you were drinking beer, toss that last 1/10 of a beer, that 'vadim' is crap. But with whiskey or whisky, that last drop can be pure gold. It's often a wonderful and slightly unique experience in itself, where you can taste some of the flavour of the drink in a nice giant burst. Smelling the empty glass is often more pleasurable than the original nose. Maybe people's focus on the nose is ass backwards.