Every time I go to the Spirit of Speyside festival, I try to buy the festival bottling from Glenfiddich. These are always very good and are always single cask releases that are bottled at cask strength. That makes it quite special, because I know Glenfiddich mainly from the releases in large quantities. So this gives me the opportunity to taste something different from them, like that very nice and unexpected bottling of last year. (A peated Glenfiddich from 2003!). This year they have selected a Glenfiddich 2005, and although it may be less ‘exotic’ than its predecessor, it is still a fine whisky.
This Glenfiddich has matured in a bourbon cask for 13 years and is bottled at 64,1% ABV.
Glenfiddich 2005 tasting notes:
Nose: Some vanilla custard and limes. Fresh pears. A hint of caramel and it’s somewhat buttery. Later heather honey, and the fruit is now more in the background. With water: Fresher. Biscuits, and more towards oranges and a pinch of grapefruit. also a hint of icing sugar.
Taste: Vanilla here too, pears. Stewed fruits, or a bit marmelade like; pears. It is also quite peppery. With water: Lemon, Vanilla, a bit of caramel. The pears are still here too. The pepper is a lot less, but still in the background. Oranges. And herbal notes. It feels thicker.
Finish:Â The finish is mid-long with vanilla custard, a hint of grapefruit and black pepper. With water: Grapefruit and quite herbal.
This is a very good whisky, very well integrated. It doesn’t have that unexpected element like last year’s edition, but this one is clean and enjoyable. It could use a little water though, otherwise it’s too peppery for me. And if this was just a little bit older it would be fantastic. But good to see they release these cask strength Glenfiddichs during the festival. They never dissapoint me.
