Glenfiddich is undeniably one of the most recognisable single match scotch whiskies, and here we have the more senior sibling to their flagship 12 year old release, oldest of their core range, and owner of key to the door: the 18 year old.
“Carefully matured for eighteen years in the finest Oloroso Sherry and bourbon casks built by our own coopers. These casks are then nurtured in small batches for a further three months for a remarkably deep, rich and complex flavour.”
The 18 year old expression still carries the “small batch” moniker as it is produced from around 150 casks at a time.
Bottled at 40% ABV the single malt is chill filtered and reportedly has colouring to maintain consistency across batches. The bottles are produced in batches and so can be sold out occasionally, but when you do find one, they currently retail around £100 GBP for a full sized bottle.
Nose
First up is sweet malt and oak – the main ingredients front and centre! Sweet fruits of red grapes and touch of tangy citrus (orange peel rather than orange itself), sweet almond/marzipan, and a few familiar baking spices to bring a fruitcake and festive feel.
Taste
A soft and sweet start with apricot and apple flavours at first before the baking spices kick in again and bring apple turnovers to mind. Orange peel, cherry, and raisins emerge and are joined by cinnamon and ginger spices.
Finish
Honeyed apricot sweetness fizzles away as the drying sherry oak finish really takes hold.
Verdict
A perfectly pleasant and easy going sipper. After a couple of glasses it becomes very easy going actually, if not a little too easy going.
The size of Glenfiddich as one of the world’s largest single malt scotch by volume means it has a lot of whisky to produce and a lot of people to please. Whilst the Glenfiddich 12 has long been the distillery’s flagship as the approachable single malt scotch of choice, the 18yo does represent a slightly deeper, richer, fruitier, and oakier choice in terms of taste, depth and profile. If you are a fan of Glenfiddich then this is a step up in terms of profile, and very similar to the 15yo, just a little dryer on the finish.
You can see that my bottle here is a few years old as it is housed in the former brown packaging, but I believe that it is the same recipe used in today’s currently available version, following the 2019 rebrand.
As someone who has the privilege of tasting multiple scotch whiskies however, when it comes to an 18 year old single malt scotch whisky, I’d expect/hope for even more bite and depth to it. It just seems a bit thin. The 40% ABV bottling is showing itself up a bit. You’d expect that a 43 or 46% bottling would bring a bit more punch, amplify those fruitier flavours, and do a little more justice to the 18 years of service across the bourbon and sherry casks. Plus, people would be able to administer the water themselves to see fit. But, that is the privileged position.
Overall, it does seem a safer choice to appease more palates for the 18yo scotch market and, at nearly £100 a bottle these days, I would feel shortchanged compared to other single malts out there, but ultimately perfectly pleasant and a status piece for the whisky shelf if needed.
M
Dram disclosure: This is my own bottle. All notes are intended as an honest, fair, and independent review of the whisky, and not as a promotion. Please drink responsibly. Please drink wisely.
whisky unplugged 
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