Last year in September Glenfiddich launched a new permanent range called the Experimental Series. According to the distillery the Experimental Series embodies the family philosophy of freedom and possibilities, to create a range of ground-breaking single malts. The Glenfiddich IPA Experiment was the debutant of the series, soon to be followed by the Glenfiddich XX (more about that later this week).
The Glenfiddich IPA Experiment is a collaboration with the Speyside Craft Brewery. For this collaboration the brewery crafted an IPA beer that was finished in American oak casks that previous held Glenfiddich whisky. After the beer was bottled the cask was used to finish the Glenfiddich whisky. This took about three months.
This Glenfiddich is a no age statement whisky and is bottled at 43 % ABV.
Glenfiddich IPA tasting notes:
Nose: Malted barley, pretty young in the nose. Citrus. Not overly complex, but just interesting enough. Overripe pears. A very feint hint of milk chocolate. Fresh and light. Pineapple and green apples (Granny Smith).
Taste: Barley, cereals, it tastes very young. Green apples and a small hint of pineapple. This all is followed by a punch of white pepper.
Finish: It’s a short finish. It dissapears quite fast. Slightly bitter at the end.
It’s not a bad whisky, but I expected a bit more of it. The nose is ok, but all the flavours dissapear rather quickly after that. It feels to me like the IPA finish doesn’t do that much. Maybe it’s the bitter taste in the finish that comes from that, but I don’t know for sure. A bit expensive for what you get.
