Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Glenfiddich 30, what a great way to start a blog!

Glenfiddich 30 Review

SHE SAID:  I've often been told that in the case of traditional profiles of a female whisky drinker, I do not "fit".  Give me peat, LOTS of peat, smoke, iodine, salt and creosote!   I love the look on other women's faces when I start describing my favorite whisky:  Talisker 18.    It's railway ties - meets my grandfather smoking a pipe with his "liniment" on his bad elbow, sitting on the beach near the bay of Fundy!  

Graham knows I dislike Speysides, so it's beyond me why he chose one as our first whisky to review (I asked, he simply giggled - Torturous!)  Ok, dislikes is probably harsh.  It's the whisky I usually end up being the most disappointed about when it comes to nosing then tasting.

It's a consistent tell tale for me that tips me off nine times out of ten that I've got a Speyside in my glass.  The smell of a whisky from this region is always a beautiful explosion of aromas, so intense that it causes my mouth to water with anticipation.  There is no coaxing a Speyside to release the delicious elixir.  It's there Boom!  I take my first sip and then...  muted?!  The flavor rates a one versus the hundred my nose just experienced.

Don't get me wrong, some of the Speysides taste lovely, but just not like I expected after nosing them.  My first vertical tasting seminar I attended was Macallan with Marc Laverdière.  By the fifth sample I was utterly disgusted and didn't want to keep going, mind you I don't waste whisky, so I did.  All this to say:  Although we have many Speysides in our collection, I prefer drinking many other over them.  (Except the Balvenies, I do love some of those quite dearly).

So here goes:   Glenfiddich 30 Year Old (This was done blind, I had no idea what I was nosing)

Color:  Deep amber, almost to the point of crème brûlée.  Legs:  Thick, slow and quite far apart.

Nose:  Neat -> Christmas cake with hints of cloves, ginger and dark brown sugar (rum'ish), rich dried fruit like plums, cherries or figs.  Water added -> More honey'ish, still sweet but more like clover, flowers.  No longer sugary of very spicy.

Palate:  Neat -> Not even close to as sweet it smelled.  Very dry mouth feel (sherry) and a bit peppery on the tip of the tongue.  Smooth but a bit bitter.  Water added ->  Now I taste a hit of dark chocolate or coffee, still sweet but less spice like and more like hints of sweet citrus.

Finish:  Neat ->  Slightly long, lingers beautifully with just a bit of burn at the back of the nasal area.  Water added ->  Same finish as before but the water removes some of the burn, smoother and the sweet stays with you for a while.

Empty glass:  Glorious!  Such delightful hints of chocolate, dark dried fruits and so sweet.




Happy Whisky Trails!




Johanne